DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 45 points and the Dallas Mavericks ended their longest home losing streak in 32 years at 14 games with a 134-128 victory over the depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
LeBron James had 30 points and 15 assists for the playoff-bound Lakers, who led for just 13 seconds in the opening minutes of their first game since injuries sidelined Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the rest of the regular season.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) runs past Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Dallas Mavericks defenders John Poulakidas (1), Max Christie (00) and Naji Marshall during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) reacts to a score during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, has a left hamstring strain, and Reaves, LA's No. 2 scorer, is out with a left oblique strain. Both were injured in a blowout loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Flagg, who had nine assists and eight rebounds, recorded consecutive 40-point games for the first time two nights after the 19-year-old rookie No. 1 pick scored 51 to become the first NBA teenager with a 50-point outing. Flagg is the first rookie with back-to-back games scoring at least 40 points since Allen Iverson (1996-97 season).
Luke Kennard had his first career triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers, who dropped into a tie for third in the Western Conference with Denver, although LA holds the tiebreaker on the Nuggets. Houston has a chance to get into the third-place mix in the final week of the regular season.
P.J. Washington Jr. scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime for the Mavericks, whose home skid was their longest at 25-year-old American Airlines Center. They lost the first 19 games of the 1993-94 season at since-demolished Reunion Arena.
James scored 16 points in the second quarter, when the Lakers cut a 22-point deficit to six at halftime.
The 41-year-old in his record 23rd season had back-to-back dunks before the break, then a soaring alley-oop slam from Kennard to get the Lakers within 72-70 early in the third quarter. But LA never got closer.
Lakers: Host Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) dribbles against Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) runs past Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Dallas Mavericks defenders John Poulakidas (1), Max Christie (00) and Naji Marshall during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) reacts to a score during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Dallas, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% below its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.
Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rallied 7.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% and is on track to set an all-time high.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.1% to $95.48 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell even more, 4.2%, to $89.69 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.
Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.
Bath & Body Works rallied 11.2%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 11.8% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.
Lululemon Athletica rose 3.6% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.9% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.
Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.4%, and Chevron slipped 0.8%. Halliburton dropped 3% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.
It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.
A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
