Mavericks vs. Heat Quoteboard: “That’s a bad dude.”

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 26: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks drives to the basket during the game against the Miami Heat on October 26, 2026 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Dusty May said it best in his postgame comments following the Dallas Mavericks’ (2-2) 113-109 win at the Miami Heat on Monday. Cooper Flagg is “a bad dude.”

Flagg filled the stat sheet like few players can, finishing with a game-high 29 points to match Giannis Antetokounmpo’s point total for Miami, 11 assists, six rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots. He scored 12 of his 29 in the decisive fourth quarter.

But it wasn’t just Flagg. It was PJ Washington. It was Kyrie Irving hitting some big early shots. It was two-way find Walter Clayton Jr., who finished with 15 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Here are the notable quotes from Monday’s postgame press conference.

Head Coach Dusty MayOpening statementMIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 26: Kyrie Irving #11 and Head Coach Dusty May of the Dallas Mavericks talk during the game against the Miami Heat on October 26, 2026 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

I want to congratulate our guys on a very hard-fought road [win]. 31 assists on 43 made baskets. I thought the hustle plays by Risacher, the last possession by P.J. coming up with that, Gaff, I thought we played extremely hard, we were quick to the ball and when Miami would go on a run, we’d find a way to hang around and hang around, and then our guys simply made big, big plays and big shots at the end. It’s a lot of fun when your two superstars are as unselfish as they are, and they show as much grace as they bring along these younger players. It’s been fun to be a part of and see it so far. Obviously a long way to go, but this is a very, very good win for our team.

On the Mavs’ defensive tenacity and physicality:

Yeah, Zacc is finding himself now. He’s still so young. We really,really value and appreciate those plays. However many missed shots he had, he had twice as many loose balls and blocks and steals and rebounds, and the ones that don’t show up where he just gets a hand on it, where it’s maybe coming to Bam or Giannis, he just gets a fingertip and then our guards dig it out. There’s no stat for that, but those are valued in our program and within our team. Just to see how connected our group is, to see how they’re all so much for each other is fun, and the guys, they earned this.

What did you do in the fourth quarter that made it hard on Giannis [Antetokounmpo]?

We brought bodies to him, I think probably the wear and tear of him having to do so much, and I thought he made a couple nice kickouts and the shots didn’t drop. I thought early on we were playing better than the score indicated in the second quarter because a couple shots weren’t dropping, and late in the game, to be honest, I thought they played better than the scoreboard would indicate. I thought they generated some great looks late, and they just didn’t drop, and so that’s part of the game as well.

How did you see Flagg taking over in the fourth quarter?

Well, we were struggling to find different ways to just get him in some space, and I thought our guys had good off-ball movement and spacing, and he just needed a crease. I mean, that’s a bad dude to get in a paint like that and finish. I think there were three guys trying to block it late. That’s one thing when you do get an angle and get to the rim on their, I mean, they had their perimeter defenders in, and you have Bam and Giannis coming over to block it, just to have the creativity to get it up off the rim. He had a couple that, they brought the third defender and drew the charge on him, but he was making the right pass as he was fanning out. He was starting closeouts. That’s one thing about Cooper, the ball comes out of his hands at the right time. If we get to where we’re really finding a rhythm offensively, he’s going to have even, he’ll have some 15-20 assist games. There’s no question.

How did you see Walter Clayton take advantage of his opportunity?

Yeah, Walt played in the stay-ready game called the Hunt Club earlier today, so he basically did a double-header. Obviously, it was an abbreviated one this morning, but that’s Walt. I mean, he’s a gamer. If anyone, obviously, this state, they’ve seen him a lot. He’s got ice water in his veins. He’s unfazed. Even when he doesn’t play up to his best, he’s the same way. I thought he dug deep, tried to defend. They were trying to go at him. I thought he held his own on the defensive end, and offensively, he just gives us so much because he can get wherever he needs to with the ball. He can create advantages. He can finish in the paint. I thought his shot fakes, obviously, have been such a great 3-point shooter. I thought he used his shot fakes well and just played really, really good ball.

Any concern for Sergio there?

Yeah, I don’t know what it is. He’ll have some imaging tomorrow, but obviously concerned because he’s such a tough kid. Whatever it is, we’ll be here to support him and get through it. Very unfortunate, like all these injuries, you look around the NBA, the first thing you think of is when there’s an injury, just how much time these guys spend to get their bodies right and how much time they’re going to have to spend just to get back to playing the game that they love to play. Hopefully, it’s minor, but we’ll know sooner than later.

What stands out to you about when PJ Washington is playing small-ball five?

I think PJ’s been great in stretches every game. For him to play 41 minutes tonight, and I haven’t reviewed the film, but I would say 39 of them were really intentional, focused, determined to do whatever it takes to win. Sometimes from my seat, it looks like he can just be in the game and not completely engaged. I thought he was engaged for almost the full 41 minutes. The last loose ball he came up with, there was five or 10 of those throughout the game that he just found a way to go get and then obviously made a huge three. He’s a weapon because he can stretch the defense, he gets in the paint, he’s physical with his bump-offs and little short shots, and then he’s got a nose for the ball too. He’s quick to loose basketballs.

On coaching in Florida and against Heat coach Erik Spoelstra:

Yeah, I feel better with the Mavericks going head-to-head against the Heat than the matchup of the head coaches. I had a lot of help tonight from the staff and also from our players, but obviously a lot of respect. They’re going to figure it out like I said earlier today. It’s not a matter of if, it’s just a matter of when. You think there’s 78 more regular season games, and you bring these new teams that all come from different defensive philosophies and offensive philosophies. It’s tough to get your guys on the same page and connected on both sides of the ball but we’re going to look up at whatever the amount of time is and they’re going to be playing great basketball and this will be a real quality road win.

On the closeout blocked shot by Flagg against Andrew Wiggins in the game’s final minute:

The thing with Coop, he’s trying to win. He’s never not — last year’s the first year of his life that he hasn’t won big, and he’s determined to get us back to where we’re playing extremely meaningful games at the right time of year, and each game matters a lot because the guy’s a winner. I mean, you see the plays he makes. He has a different gear. He has a different level of focus and attention; when he needs it, it’s there. But to see the plays he made, in the last biggest possession of the game, we just put it in his hands and knew he would make a great decision because of how unselfish he can play above the defense but also just his ability to get by people and finishing in the paint is incredible.

Do you appreciate your team’s next shot mentality, and is it important for a young squad like that to be able to keep shooting and not lose that confidence?

Yeah, absolutely and that’s something that over the course of my and our career that I’ve probably been a little bit loose with shot selection where some coaches how well you shoot it you earn the shots and with us if you’re playing the right way and the ball finds you then we trust you based on your work and practice and also the developmental plan of taking the right shots. Like I said, I wanted Zacc to keep shooting when he’s open, and most importantly, his teammates did too. I heard a couple of them say actually, I heard Kyrie say he’s playing so hard; I want him to keep shooting it and it wasn’t he’s doing this; he’s making 500 and not this he’s playing so hard. We appreciate that so much that we’re never going to tell him to stop shooting it and he made a big floater he made a huge three, and he’s a good shooter that’s the crazy part. Like, he’s a very good shooter that’s just not making them now but he’s finding so many other ways to impact the game and it looks like he’s having fun even though it’s not his best.

Collectively, what can a team learn from getting a road win against a talented Heat team early in the season to build on?

Each game is so different I think more than anything else just the belief that we can. You know, we won a game in Indiana where we had a little bit of margin and they came storming back and we held on. This one was back and forth, and we got a little bit of separation midway through the fourth, but it was a one-possession game and so it I think it gives our guys confidence that we don’t know what it’s going to look like. Maybe it’s a big time basket by someone, or maybe it’s a couple stops, but we have enough, and we got different ways to figure out a way to close the games, and so I think it just gives you confidence for later on when you’re in so many of these.

Cooper FlaggWhat were you seeing in the fourth quarter that allowed you to get to the rim consistently?

Cooper Flagg DELIVERED in the clutch for Dallas 💪

He blocked the 3-pointer with 31.1 secs left, then raced to the rim for the layup to extend the lead to 4 with 10 secs left to help the Mavs seal the road W! pic.twitter.com/LNX27E3inq

— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2026

I think just we did a better job at that late in the game just spreading the floor, getting into different actions and shifting the defense. You know, allowing for better driving lanes, angles and opening up the court a little bit.

You finished with 11 assists. What were some of the things you were seeing to be able to hit your teammates?

I mean they were mucking the game up. You know, being in the gaps heavy and trying to slow us down — make us just play through the pass and hit the easy one. So to start out early, just making the right play, and guys were knocking down shots.

Evaluating Walter Clayton Jr.’s night:

It was great. Walt was great. You know, obviously he hasn’t been with us for very long, but you know for him to just step up tonight and 6-for-7 from the field, but you know, I thought this is intensity and the way I mean — plus-22 — like for him to go out there and just play really really hard and unselfish basketball and just really give to the team in every single way, I thought it was a really big step for our team. Huge shout-out to Walt for just staying ready. I think honestly after shoot-around today he was playing — like he was in there playing with the guys in the stay-ready game, so a little double header for him. To be able to stay ready and come out tonight and just play and contribute like he did — it was it was really cool to see.

Did it mean anything additional playing in front of Spoelstra, who will be coaching the 2028 Team USA Olympic Team?

I mean I hadn’t really thought about that. Obviously for me, I’ve played for the country before, you know when I was younger um playing for Under-17 teams, stuff like that. For me you know it’s obviously a pleasure to be able to play for my country, any chance I get. I have no idea what it’s going to look like. It’s a good ways down the road so um obviously, you know, if I was ever asked to to be able to play for my country, that’s something I would love to do, and that’d be amazing.

How did you expect Wiggins to play you on that last drive for your last bucket of the game?

Like I said, just getting set. Once I had everybody set and everybody was in good positions, just taking advantage of the space that we had, being able to get downhill and challenge them at the rim. I was confident in my ability to get by him, create an advantage for our team and make the right play.

Does seeing Risacher and Washington playing hard on defense make the game more fun and also motivate you to play harder?

For sure, yeah, I mean I think just setting the tone early, being physical. Guys like PJ and Zacc you know those are things that they’re going to bring to our team every single night, so for them to just you know continue to step up these last couple nights and really just [show] how much they can provide us without even having to put the ball in the basket — that’s what I’m telling Zacc. I think obviously, nobody’s happy missing shots and stuff like that, but you know he makes us 15-20 points better when he’s being active and getting steals and playing his defense, so I have no doubt that his shots are going to start to fall, and there’s nothing to worry about there. So, with him contributing like he has been, it makes us so much better.

How valuable is it for Washington to be able to take on tough defensive assignments like guarding Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Like I said same with Zach I mean super valuable. PJ has been doing a lot for us on the defensive end. He’s been asked to take on some pretty tall tasks. I think he’s done an incredible job you know just you know doing whatever he can to help our team win and I mean PJ’s been knocking his shots doing what he does on the offensive end, but I mean defensively, he’s he’s been our anchor. With him and [Gafford] — they’ve been holding down the fort, so it’s been really big for him stepping up, Zacc stepping up, Gaff has been stepping up um on the defensive side of the ball. I think that’s that’s what’s making us better.

On affecting the outcome of the game on both sides of the ball, in multiple stat categories:

It’s just kind of always how I played — just making the right plays and whether it was scoring, passing, rebounding, getting in the lane, steals, blocks — just trying to impact the game and impact winning and competing at a high level.

On his veteran teammates, namely Washington, Gafford and Irving:

It’s been great. Those are two guys Gaff, PJ, and then obviously Ky — just great vets who set the set the tone, set the example and I think it’s been great for for me and for all the other young guys just to learn from. They set a really good example. They’re great leaders, with their communication, and they really show up and do it every single day, so it’s been great just to learn from those guys.

Walter Clayton Jr.On the stay-ready mentality:

Walter Clayton Jr. scores the And-1 in the second half last night, he looked different pic.twitter.com/vCL66ToJ15

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 27, 2026

As simple as that — stay ready. Just trying to stay engaged during the timeouts so I know what the game plan is before and then just — a big factor — just the guys trusting me to go out there and shoot the ball and play my game.

Do you feel there is an expectation for a guy like you to play at a certain level to have synergy with guys like Irving and Flagg?

For sure, I mean, just being here for about a week now — Ky, the way he prepares, man — it kind of forces everybody to be on their P’s and their Q’s and prepare the same way. So just being locked in, just watching them, and, you know, these guys got a good system going on here, so I feel like I’m just kind of blending in seamlessly.

What allowed you to make that impact right when you came in to the game?

Just space. I feel like we got a good amount of paint touches tonight. We [were] relocating off the ball well. We felt like they were a team that collapses a lot, so just finding that space to get those shots off.

What stood out to you about the way the team played in the fourth quarter to pull out the win?

We just locked in during the timeouts, so talking to each other, I feel like we rebounded the ball great, and we were just physical. I think we came out and played our brand of basketball, and it worked for us.

How much did they start to change on you defensively after you made a couple of 3-pointers?

They were definitely probably a little quicker to get out on the closeouts, but, you know, that’s a great team. I don’t think they were changing too much for me. Tt was probably more so for Coop and Ky.

Has the chip on your shoulder grown as a result of this being your third team in two NBA seasons?

Definitely. My last year in college I was a big fish in uh in a little pond, and then you come to a new level. I’m a little fish in a big pond, so just got to work my way back up, and I feel like this is gonna be a great spot to be able to do that.

What did you make of Flagg’s fourth-quarter performance?

How many minutes did he play tonight? 40? Yeah, I mean, that’s a lot of minutes to be able to do that in the fourth. Just having him persevere for us. Coop is great. He’s a great player, and he’s gonna continue to be that for us.

What did the team try to do defensively against Antetokounmpo?

Just tried to meet him early — force them tough ones at the rim. Giannis is Giannis. He’s gonna get there, but we just tried to make it as tough as possible, and I think we did a pretty good job tonight.

What are some of the ways Washington affects winning?

Main thing is he be hitting people. I think people don’t understand how big those little hits [are] as the game goes on — how important they are, and PJ’s done that every game. He’s just been constantly doing that, so PJ’s great for us, obviously shooting the ball well and a great rebounder, so he’s been great for us.

How would you describe May as a coach and as a tactician?

Dusty is great. He’s won everywhere he’s been. I think he’s planning on doing the same here, and just as a tactician, he sees the game well, and he’s willing to listen to our point of view as players on the court. If [Irving] sees something, Dusty’s willing to take it into account. Dusty’s been great, and I think he’s gonna be a great coach at this level.