Wembanyama scores 29 points as Spurs beat Mavs despite another 30-plus night from Cooper Flagg

DALLAS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg's fourth consecutive 30-point game in a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

Flagg scored 32 points to extend his NBA record for consecutive games with at least 30 points by a teenager. The 19-year-old joined Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Allen Iverson and Jalen Green as the only rookies to score at least 30 in four straight games since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.

Dallas lost all four games and is on a six-game losing streak, its longest of the season.

Harrison Barnes was another of seven San Antonio players in double figures with 19 points, and De'Aaron Fox scored 17 points while pushing through a rough shooting night with two clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The second came on Wembanyama's sixth assist and gave the Spurs a 131-123 lead with 1:24 remaining.

Stephon Castle had 18 points and seven rebounds, the last board coming on his empathic and punctating follow dunk for the final points.

Naji Marshall matched Flagg with 32 points for Dallas, and Daniel Gafford had 16 points and 10 rebounds a few hours after the trade deadline passed without the center leaving in a deal when he was the subject of speculation.

The Mavericks were playing their first game since trading 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, who had been sidelined a month with a left hand injury.

Wembanyama made his first five 3-pointers and had 20 points at halftime as the Spurs led by double digits several times but couldn't put the Mavericks away until the final two minutes. The 7-foot-4 French star missed his last four 3s and was 9 of 14 from the field.

Flagg did most of his damage after halftime, scoring 22 points as the Mavericks cut a 13-point deficit to one but never could go in front.

These teams play again in San Antonio on Saturday.

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

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) walks off the court in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) runs the court in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The race between a onetime political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders and a former congressman was too early to call Thursday in a special House Democratic primary for the seat vacated when Mikie Sherill was elected governor of New Jersey.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski started election night with a significant lead over Analilia Mejia, based largely on early results from mail-in ballots. The margin narrowed as results from votes cast that day were tallied, and the two were locked in a tight race.

With more than 61,000 votes counted, Mejia led Malinowski by 486, or less than 1 percentage point.

All three counties in the district report some mail-in ballots yet to be processed. Also, mail-in ballots postmarked by election day can arrive as late as Wednesday and still be counted.

Malinowski did better than Mejia among the mail-in ballots already counted in all three counties, leaving the outcome of the race uncertain.

The Democratic winner will face Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, on April 16.

Malinowski served two terms in the House before losing a bid for reelection in a different district in 2022. He had the endorsement of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim, who has built support among progressive groups.

Mejia, a former head of the Working Families Alliance in the state and political director for Sanders during his 2020 presidential run, had the Vermont independent senator's endorsement as well as that of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York. She also worked in President Joe Biden's Labor Department as deputy director of the women’s bureau.

Both Malinowski and Mejia were well ahead of the next-closest candidates: Brendan Gill, an elected commissioner in Essex County who has close ties to former Gov. Phil Murphy; and Tahesha Way, who served as lieutenant governor and secretary of state for two terms under Murphy until last month.

The other candidates were John Bartlett, Zach Beecher, J-L Cauvin, Marc Chaaban, Cammie Croft, Dean Dafis, Jeff Grayzel, Justin Strickland and Anna Lee Williams.

The district covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey, including some of New York City's wealthier suburbs.

The special primary and April general election will determine who serves the remainder of Sherrill's term, which ends next January. There will be a regular primary in June and general election in November for the next two-year term.

Sherrill represented the district for four terms after her election in 2018. She won despite the region's historical loyalty to the GOP, a dynamic that began to shift during President Donald Trump's first term.

FILE - Analilia Mejia, center, speaks during a rally calling for SCOTUS ethics reform, May 2, 2023, in Washington. (Joy Asico/AP Images for Center for Popular Democracy Action, File)

FILE - Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski speaks during his election night party in Garwood, N.J., Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

FILE - New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill waves during her inauguration ceremony in Newark, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)