Coach Dusty May's Dallas Mavericks hit the road to take on the Indiana Pacers in a chance for redemption after Cooper Flagg diagnosed the team's struggles against the Houston Rockets. Kyrie Irving was also frustrated by the Rockets loss, which led to another eventful night against Indiana as a wild sequence unfolded between Flagg and Aaron Nesmith.
Highlights showed Nesmith hacking Flagg on the fast break, sending him toppling to the court. Flagg held his left shoulder in pain and was forced to exit the game while a brawl broke out as Mavericks teammates rushed to Flagg's defense.
Cooper Flagg headed to the locker room with a shoulder injury after this hard foul by Aaron Nesmith.
Nesmith was assessed a flagrant 1 for this play.
Additionally, Naji Marshall and Aaron Nesmith were both assessed technical fouls following this play. pic.twitter.com/ySt4Ykqk6z
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 24, 2026
Flagg had 14 points in 17 minutes on the night along with five rebounds, six assists and three steals. The Mavs jumped out to a big lead over the Pacers early in the third quarter as they continued to play hard in search of their first win of the NBA season.
Article Continues BelowThe Mavericks' rough start to the season with tempered by Irving's first bucket in nearly 600 days. Irving, Zacchaire Risacher, and PJ Washington each joined Flagg in double digits as fans began digesting what they saw as Flagg got an injury diagnosis for the rest of the game.
The Mavericks' PR account revealed that the team's star forward Flagg will not return in the second half. Left shoulder soreness was the official diagnosis, an injury that Flagg also suffered from as an NBA rookie with the Mavericks.