Overview
- ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the illness-related absence, and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd confirmed it before tipoff.
- Flagg had appeared in Dallas’s first 15 games, averaging 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in heavy minutes, including extended stints at point guard.
- The rookie had been feeling sick for roughly 48 hours and previously played through left shoulder soreness and a right thumb sprain.
- Dallas remains short-handed with Anthony Davis sidelined by a left calf strain and Kyrie Irving still rehabbing an ACL injury, prompting short-term rotation tweaks on the wing and in the backcourt.
- With Flagg out versus New York, minutes and touches shifted to veterans and depth options such as P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall, with the team expecting only a brief absence.