Spurs Head to Dallas Still Hunting a First Win, With Cooper Flagg Doubtful for the Mavericks
San Antonio visits Dallas on Saturday night for the Mavericks' home opener — a back-to-back for both teams — with Dallas star Cooper Flagg a serious doubt after injuring his left shoulder Friday in Indianapolis.
The San Antonio Spurs play their third game in five days on Saturday night, visiting the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. local time. Both teams are playing the second game in two nights: Dallas is traveling back from Indiana, and San Antonio is coming off Friday's 114-110 loss to Houston in Austin. Coverage is on KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV and NBA League Pass, according to the Mavericks' home-opener preview.
The game's biggest question is Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks' franchise player suffered a left shoulder injury Friday against the Indiana Pacers after a flagrant foul by Aaron Nesmith on a breakaway sent him tumbling to the court, USA TODAY reported. Dallas officially designated the injury as left shoulder soreness. Flagg made both free throws, was immediately substituted out and was ruled out for the rest of the game, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and six assists in 17 minutes. Coach Dusty May said Flagg would be evaluated in the next couple of days and was in good spirits in the locker room — a timeline USA TODAY reported suggests Flagg will miss Saturday's game against the Spurs, and the home-opener preview lists him as a serious doubt.
Dallas still won Friday, beating the Pacers 121-105 for May's first career NBA victory. Kyrie Irving led Dallas with a game-high 24 points in just under 25 minutes on a minutes restriction, continuing his return from the torn ACL he suffered in March 2025. Irving was not on the injury report earlier in the week, and a Saturday appearance would be his first regular-season home game in Dallas in nearly 19 months, as well as his first time playing on consecutive nights this season.
San Antonio arrives at 0-2 after losses to Oklahoma City and Houston. Victor Wembanyama scored 25 points with 13 rebounds in Friday's loss, Dylan Harper added 20 and De'Aaron Fox had 19, but Houston held on after Amen Thompson blocked Wembanyama's last-second try to force overtime. Against a Dallas frontcourt that could be stretched thin without Flagg, the Spurs will look to turn their first win of the season on the road before the schedule turns to Sacramento.
