The Dallas Mavericks face their fourth consecutive loss in a stretch where Cooper Flagg is playing the best basketball of his rookie season. On Saturday, they suffered defeat at the hands of Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in a closely contested game. After the loss, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd went off on the officials and the media during the press conference.

In the absence of Kyrie Irving and a traditional point guard, Kidd has often used Flagg in that role. Known for keeping his composure even in the most tense moments, the coach lost his cool when a reporter questioned his decision for the nth time this season.

“Criticism? That’s your opinion,” Kidd responded after the loss. “You guys write that bull—-. I’ve done this. I’ve played this game. I played it. I know what the f— I’m doing. I don’t give a f— what you guys write because you guys have never played the game. I build players… So if I take criticism, it only makes me better, because if I wasn’t doing it right, you guys wouldn’t be poking holes in what I’ve done.”

Kidd had started the season with Flagg at point guard. However, the rookie struggled to manage the ball and committed turnovers. The Mavericks lost five of the first seven games and were statistically the worst offensive team in the NBA. The coach then retracted his decision and got D’Angelo Russell to initiate the offense. After the plan with Russell failed, Kidd reinserted Flagg in the optimized role, trying a starting lineup without a traditional point guard.

Flagg has thrived ever since. So, besides blasting the media for the lineup narrative, the Mavericks coach was furious with the referees after they didn’t call a foul on the Rockets during his team’s final possession. Kidd referred to a play by Flagg with 29 seconds left. Had the call come, the rookie star would be on the charity stripe with a chance to even the scoreline at 109 and potentially send the game to overtime.

“I saw a foul, Sean (Wright), Jason (Goldenberg), and Simone (Jelks) were awful tonight,” Kidd said. “It’s unacceptable. It’s a foul, and he needs to be at the free-throw line. Does he make both? That’s up to the player.”

Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant surrounded the Mavericks rookie as he came down after a missed layup from the left. Moreover, Kidd wasn’t the only one who thought Flagg was fouled on the play.

Game announcer Mike Breen also felt like there was contact.

Flagg himself said that he “definitely” felt some contact, but shrugged off any controversy by emphasizing the need “to keep playing through it.”

Jason Kidd showers praise on Cooper Flagg’s tough mentality

After a historic 49-point performance against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, Cooper Flagg continued his remarkable run against the Rockets. He led the scoring with a double-double: 34 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. He also shot 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, and would’ve probably been able to tie the game had he gotten the free throws. However, he wasn’t ready to waste his time wailing over a missed call.

“He’s going to continue to keep going until they blow the whistle,” Kidd said about Flagg’s mentality. “There’s a lot of fouls missed with this young man. Maybe they just don’t know his game yet, but that’s who he is. He’s going to continue to keep driving. He’s not going to get discouraged. Tonight he backed up what he did the other night, put his team in a position to win the game or to tie the game.”

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Flagg has barely spoken or complained about the officiating all season long.

However, he appreciated Kidd standing up for him. He revealed that he and his coach “trust” each other as they continue to build a long-term relationship and stabilize the Mavericks’ future. While their bond grows, the team is 19-30 on the season, in another losing streak, with tanking looking like its best option.