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Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg all business as he makes his professional debut at NBA Summer League

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg made his professional debut Thursday night in the NBA Summer League and celebrated an 87-85 win over Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Flagg finished with 10 points on 5-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. Though Flagg struggled at times to find his groove, there were flashes as to why he was chosen No. 1 overall last month, doing plenty of little things that helped the Mavericks seal the win, including a key block near the end of the game.

Flagg swatted DJ Steward’s attempt with 1:10 remaining, and Ryan Nembhard made a 3-pointer at the other end to give Dallas the 87-85 lead.

“I couldn’t really get into a rhythm, it’s a different environment, obviously very different from college, it’s probably very different from what the real NBA is gonna be like,” Flagg said after the game. “The coaches had a lot of confidence in me. They’ve been telling me they want me to experiment, try some new things, and I was trying to be aggressive, and that’s new for me too.

“I would say that might be one of the worst games in my life, but we got the win, that’s what really matters to me.”

Flagg strolled into UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center for the game at 4:17 p.m., wearing Mavericks gear, bright white New Balance shoes, and an emotionless look on his face as he passed through security.

Roughly 45 minutes later, he wore the same stone-cold face as he came out for warmups shortly after 5 p.m.

“I was obviously a little nervous, it’s a new environment, a lot of new fans and whatnot,” Flagg said. “So I was a little nervous, a little excited, but just happy to be here. It’s a dream come true, so I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”

His fans more than made up for it with plenty of energy, electrifying the jam-packed arena that cheered loudest when he was announced as a starter in his first Summer League game.

Flagg missed his first two attempts of the game, picked up his first foul just 46 seconds into the game, and gave the crowd what they’d been anticipating, going one-on-one with fellow fan favorite James.

James buried his first attempt over Flagg, and then hit a 3-pointer after the 6-foot-8 Duke product missed his second attempt to give the Lakers a 5-0 lead.

Flagg excited the crowd at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter, jamming home his first points.

Early in the second quarter, Flagg nearly sent every fan in the building into a frenzy when he made a spin move into the paint and attempted a one-handed slam dunk over 7-foot Christian Koloko. The ball caromed off the back of the rim and still drew plenty of oohs and ahhs.

Generally filled with Lakers fans when the team plays in the summer, the arena was full of emotion with a fair share of Mavericks fans in attendance to see the 2025 National college player of the year.

Like 15-year-old Baer Epple, 15, who was seated with his father Chad in the third row from the court, donning Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks jersey.

Epple said he’s been following Flagg since before his Duke days, beginning with his junior year at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine.

The 15-year-old who is in Las Vegas from Seattle for an AAU tournament said he’s been a Mavericks fan for roughly four years.

“Even more of a fan now that they got Cooper Flagg,” Epple said. “Hopefully he does good, that’d be pretty cool to see. I don’t want him to be like a bust or anything.”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told The Associated Press before the game he was looking for nothing more than effort and grit in his team’s opening game, as he wanted them all playing hard.

“This summer league is a little different when you have this type of turnout,” Kidd said. “But the guys have had a couple practices. There’s going to be some turnovers. I just want to see how they respond to a couple of mistakes being made, no one’s gonna play a perfect game and be unselfish.”

As for his prize draft pick: “We’re all excited,” Kidd said of Flagg. “Seen enough of him on tape, so now it’s good to see him on the floor.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba





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Here are the best Prime Day 2025 deals on the final day of the sale

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We made it to the last day of Amazon’s extended Prime Day extravaganza. And, yeah, we’re a little exhausted, but after three days of lightning deals and all-time low prices, there are fewer than 12 hours to go until many of the discounts disappear. So, if you’ve been hesitant to jump on these laptop deals before heading back to school, now’s your time to act. Typically, Prime Day is your last opportunity to take advantage of bottom-dollar prices until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, so it may be a while before you see prices plummet on a gadget you’re interested in buying.

Really, there’s an overwhelming amount of Prime Day deals, so to make things easier to navigate, we’ve organized all of our favorites by category below. That will allow you to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for — or even uncover a deal on something you didn’t know you wanted. You have until Saturday, July 12th, at 3:00 AM ET (that’s Friday, July 11th, at 12:00 AM PT for you West Coast folks), so don’t miss out.

Tablet and e-reader deals

Soundbar and Bluetooth speaker deals

Verge favorites and other miscellaneous deals

Update, July 11th: Added several more deals, including those for Google’s original Pixel Fold, Logitech’s Lift mouse, Oppenheimer on 4K Blu-ray, Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 Wireless, and more.



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Aryna Sabalenka Says It ‘Pissed’ Her Off That American Amanda Anisimova Celebrated Early in Upset Wimbledon Win

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NEED TO KNOW

  • Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is taking a difficult Wimbledon loss in stride while recounting a few particularly challenging moments during a match against American winner Amanda Anisimova
  • Speaking with reporters later, Sabalenka ultimately laughed off a moment that “pissed” her off during a set, and said she used her feelings as fuel
  • After the loss, Sabalenka tried to focus her remarks on self-reflection and moving forward

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is taking a difficult Wimbledon loss in stride while responding to a few particularly tough moments during a match against American winner Amanda Anisimova.

Overall, she accepted the defeat and said Anisimova, 23, “was a better player” that day — but recalled a frustrating instance during a set.

“I was just trying to chase the ball, and yeah, she was already celebrating it, and I was like, ‘I mean, that’s a bit early.’ But then she kind of pissed me off saying, ‘That’s what she [Sabalenka] does all the time,’ ” Sabalenka, 27, told reporters.

Still, she tried to channel the moment as fuel going forward.

“It actually helped me to keep fighting, and I’m like, okay, now I’m going to show you the tennis, you know? So I came back because I got really angry in that moment. So probably in the third set, I should’ve remembered,” she said, laughing off the moment.

Sabalenka lost the semifinal match to Anisimova in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

In response to a reporter’s question, the Belarusian pro, ranked No. 1 in the world, addressed another tense moment when the ball hit the net and dropped over.

“For sure she didn’t hear me, but I was just like, ‘You don’t want to say sorry?’ But she just wanted, I guess badly, to win this match and it’s on her,” Sabalenka said. “If she doesn’t feel like saying sorry, like she barely got that point and she didn’t feel like saying sorry for that tricky situation, that’s on her.”

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The two women embraced each other after their competition on Thursday, July 10. Following the loss, Sabalenka tried to focus her remarks on self-reflection and moving forward.

“Still a lot of things to be proud of, and this experience shows that next year I’m only hungrier and angrier and it’s only these tough defeats help me to come back much stronger, so I have huge hopes for the next year,” she said with a smile.



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Walmart recalls 850,000 water bottles after two consumers suffer vision loss from ejecting caps

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NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is recalling about 850,000 stainless steel water bottles because the lid can “forcefully eject” and unexpectedly strike consumers — resulting in permanent vision loss for two people to date.

The recall covers Walmart’s “Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles,” which have been sold at the chain’s stores across the country since 2017. According to a notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, these products pose “serious impact and laceration hazards.”

That’s because when a consumer attempts to open the bottles “after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time,” the lid can eject forcefully, the CPSC notes.

As of Thursday’s announcement, Walmart had received three reports of consumers who were injured after being struck in the face by these lids when opening their bottles. And two of those people “suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye,” the CPSC added.

Consumers are urged to stop using the now-recalled Ozark Trail bottles — and contact Walmart for a full refund. Shoppers can also bring the products to their local Walmart store for that compensation.

The bottles being recalled can also be identified by their model number, 83-662 — which doesn’t appear on the product itself, but would show on packaging. The stainless-steel base is silver and the lid is a black, one-piece screw cap. There is also an Ozark Trail logo embedded on the side of the 64-ounce bottle.

The Associated Press reached out to Walmart for further comments on Friday.





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