Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg was having a strong start to the first half and was looking to add to it with an emphatic dunk.

Flagg was sprinting toward the basket after a steal with no one in front with about a minute left in the second quarter. Then Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith caught up to Flagg and went for a block as the Rookie of the Year was going for the dunk. Nesmith hit Flagg on the head and the second-year forward hit the ground hard, which resulted in Flagg heading to the locker room holding his left shoulder. Flagg made his two free throws but did not return to the game.

He was ruled out with soreness in his left shoulder. Flagg ended the game with 14 points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot while being a plus-34.

Mavericks coach Dusty May said Flagg will be evaluated in the next couple of days.

Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington ran down and got into Nesmith’s face and other Pacers after the hard foul. The foul on Flagg was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 and Nesmith and Marshall were assessed technicals.

“Just standing up for my teammate,” Marshall said. “I hang with him every day, so it just made sense.”

A reporter followed up with: Was it dirty?

“It was what it was,” Marshall responded. “Just part of the game.”

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