Magic beat Mavericks 115-114 on Wendell Carter Jr.'s last-second dunk to spoil Cooper Flagg's return

Updated Mar. 5, 2026 10:15 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Wendell Carter Jr. made a go-ahead dunk with 1.4 seconds left, and the Orlando Magic beat the Dallas Mavericks 115-114 on Thursday night to spoil Cooper Flagg's return from injury.

Flagg's three-point play with 37.3 seconds left gave Dallas a four-point lead, but Orlando scored the last five points. Jalen Suggs hit a 3-pointer with 32.2 seconds left, and after Flagg missed a jumper, Suggs fed Carter in the paint for the decisive slam.

Tristan da Silva led the Magic with 19 points. Suggs finished with 17 points and seven assists, Paolo Banchero had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Carter scored 15.

Flagg scored 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting in 26 minutes. The top pick in the NBA draft and the league's highest-scoring rookie, he had missed the previous eight games with a sprained left foot.

Klay Thompson scored 24 points for the Mavericks, coming off the bench to make seven 3-pointers. Khris Middleton scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks lost for the 15th time in 17 games.

Flagg had five rebounds and six assists and blocked four shots. His first basket, a putback early in the fourth quarter, put him above 1,000 points in his 50th career game. The 19-year-old joined Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic as the only players since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger with 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists in his first 50 games, per ESPN Insights.

Dallas played without Brandon Williams, who has a left quad contusion.