Cooper Flagg is barely old enough to vote in the United States. He’s already scored 35 PTS in an NBA game. Opposing defenses, beware.

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Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday Gary Payton II, Adam Flagler, and Walt Simon! 🎉

Game Recaps

Flagg becomes youngest-ever to score 35+, Mavs down Clippers 114-110

Any time you can break a LeBron James record, you know you’re doing something right.

Cooper Flagg did just that on Saturday night, passing LeBron as the youngest player to ever score 35+ PTS in an NBA game. At just 18 years and 343 days old, Flagg’s 35 PTS and 8 REB helped Dallas to their sixth win of the season against a struggling Clippers team. The Mavs also got a clutch boost from one of their vets, with Klay Thompson scoring 17 PTS in the fourth quarter.

After an up-and-down start to the season in which he played outside his natural position, Flagg has found his stride as both a scorer and all-around game impactor. His rebounding and defense are plus assets, and his ball-handling is a welcome skill on a Dallas team without much playmaking (though we’ll keep him at Power Forward for now).

Oh, and don’t forget he throws down dunks like this.

Johnson, Maxey each top 40 as Hawks outlast Sixers 142-134 in 2OT

The Hawks made a number of big-time offseason acquisitions this past summer. But in the fall, the Atlanta veterans have come up just as big.

On Sunday, the Hawks won a double overtime thriller in Philly after Jalen Johnson played hero with 41 PTS and 14 REB and 7 AST, including a pair of threes in 2OT that helped put the game on ice. Philly, which saw Joel Embiid return from a nine-game absence, got 18 PTS from the former MVP and 44 from Tyrese Maxey, who continued his hot start to the season.

In the end, it was all Atlanta, who’s up to 5th in the East after winning four of their last five. Johnson has been a stud in the league for a while, but his emergence this season (career-highs of 21.9 PPG, 54.4 FG%, and 9.6 RPG) has helped the Hawks stay upright with Trae Young on the sideline. This Atlanta team is different from the ones we’ve seen in recent years, but that also means they have the chance to reach new heights.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• The days of Payton Pritchard being underrated are long gone, but he deserves his flowers either way. The former 6MOY took advantage of his starting spot in Boston’s matchup with Cleveland, dropping 42 PTS en route to a 117-115 win. Jaylen Brown also recorded his fourth career triple-double with 19 PTS, 12 REB, and 11 AST. All-around gem for the C’s.

• One day, this newsletter will contain news of a Thunder loss. Today is not that day. OKC moved to 20-1 with a 123-115 win over Portland, led by SGA with 26 and aided by 19 PTS from Chet, 17 from Ajay Mitchell, and 16 from J-Dub. They’re on pace for 78 wins. Dominance.

• If you’re a fan of college basketball, you’re probably used to seeing Zach Edey drop 30. But he’d never done it in an NBA game until Sunday, when the big fella racked up 32 PTS, 17 REB, and 5 BLK on 16/20 from the field to aid Memphis to a 115-107 win. You wanna talk ethical hoops? Zero points from three-pointers and free throws. Just old school paint power.

• Detroit’s win streak may be over, but their time atop the East may just be beginning. The Pistons got back in the win column Saturday night with a 138-135 barnburner win over Miami, a game in which nine Detroit players scored at least nine points. Cade led the way with 29, while Tobias Harris added 26 on 10/12 shooting.

Stock Market

Welcome back to the Enjoy Stock Market! Let’s break down the players, teams, and trends on the rise this week.

📈 Showtime Duo

What do an undrafted player from Newark, Arkansas and a top-three pick from Slovenia have in common? Buckets. Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic have been nothing short of unstoppable for this season’s 15-4 Lakers, with Reaves averaging 28.5 PPG and 6.7 APG on 51.6% from the field and Luka notching 35.1 PPG, 9.4 APG, and 8.5 RPG. They also happen to be best friends.

📈 Seeing Green

The New York Knicks are never subtle, but their current four-game win streak may have caught you by surprise. New York held Toronto to under 100 PTS in a 116-94 win at the Garden, but what’s fueled their 13-6 record is offense— the Knicks have the third-best offensive rating in the NBA, scoring 120.7 points per 100 possessions. Take a bow, coach Mike Brown!

📈 The MVP Race

In an ordinary year, it would be pretty cool to hold a vote for the league’s most prestigious award. This year? No thanks. Making the call between the league’s best will be an impossible task this season, between Luka’s aforementioned dominance, Nikola Jokic’s 28.9/12.4/10.9 stat line (the latter two of which lead the league) and Shai’s 32.9 PPG average for a 20-1 team. And don’t forget about Giannis, who’s putting up 30.9 PPG to join Jokic and SGA as three of the four most efficient 30-PPG seasons ever. So much greatness to Enjoy.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, try to pick a goal you’re truly passionate about and work toward it a little bit each day. You know what they say— little strokes fell great oaks! See you soon.

Walker Carnathan