Cooper Flagg passes LeBron to become youngest player in NBA history to score 35 points
Cooper Flagg became the youngest-ever player to score 35 points in an NBA game as he helped the Dallas Mavericks rally to a 114-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.The 18-year-old went 13 for 22 from the field in his 20th career game.The top pick in this year’s draft also grabbed eight rebounds.The only other 18-year-old to score 35 points in an NBA game is LeBron James, who did so twice in his rookie season.His first came when he was 18 years and 348 days old, five days older than Flagg was on Saturday.
“He’s only 18 years old, but he seems like he’s been in this league before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said.“He did it all tonight.He had the ball.You can call it point guard or whatever, but he ran the offense for us.He drove the ball.
The ball touched the paint,He got to the rim, got to the free throw line, stepped up and made free throws for us late,Just his composure on both ends [impressed me],He competes at a very high level,You saw that tonight, but you saw that last night, too.
”Flagg also impressed in Friday’s game, when he faced James’s Lakers.In that game, he had 11 assists, an NBA record for an 18-year-old.His 35-year-old teammate, Klay Thompson, is another admirer.“Cooper’s upside is limitless,” Thompson said.“He has every tool to be great.
Sometimes I can’t believe he should be a freshman in college.”Flagg was aggressive all game against the Clippers, including a spectacular dunk over Ivica Zubac.“Being aggressive right now is obviously right for me, and that’s what Coach has stressed to me,” said Flagg.“I’ve got to be aggressive, and we’ll live with some of the mistakes, but you just have to be aggressive and trust all the work.”Thompson also had an impressive outing: he hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, his final one putting Dallas ahead for good with 1:51 left.
He shot 6 of 10 from long distance overall as the Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak.He finished with 23 points, 17 of which came in the final quarter.Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 30 points and eight rebounds.James Harden added 29 points, 11 assists and eight boards for the Clippers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game.John Collins scored 21 and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 11 boards.
Los Angeles (5-15) have lost seven straight at the Intuit Dome since beating New Orleans 126-124 on Halloween night,The Mavericks (6-15) scored 20 points off 18 Clippers turnovers,
UK refrains from hitting high street on Black Friday as fears grow over economy
Shoppers held back from visiting high streets over Black Friday, data shows, amid fears weak consumer spending will put the brakes on economic growth in 2026.Visitors to all UK shopping destinations were down 2% on Friday and 7.2% compared with the equivalent days last year, according to the monitoring company MRI Software, with locations near central London offices among the few to experience a lift in visits.While most Black Friday sales are now online, the picture there was also a mixed bag in the run-up to the big weekend. Sales down heavily on Thursday but up on Tuesday, according to the online retail association IMRG
England’s water industry issued £10.5bn in ‘green bonds’ despite pollution record
Water companies have issued a fifth of the UK’s “green bonds” since 2017, despite a consistently poor record of sewage pollution during that time, research has shown.Privately owned water companies in England have together issued £10.5bn in bonds tied to projects that offer “environmental benefits”, according to analysis of financial market data by Unearthed, which is part of Greenpeace UK.Anglian Water has been the biggest issuer in the water industry, at £3.5bn, with struggling Thames Water second at £3
How big tech is creating its own friendly media bubble to ‘win the narrative battle online’
At a time when distrust of big tech is high, Silicon Valley is embracing an alternative ecosystem where every CEO is a starA montage of Palantir’s CEO, Alex Karp, and waving US flags set to a remix of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck blasts out as the intro for the tech billionaire’s interview with Sourcery, a YouTube show presented by the digital finance platform Brex. Over the course of a friendly walk through the company offices, Karp fields no questions about Palantir’s controversial ties to ICE but instead extolls the company’s virtues, brandishes a sword and discusses how he exhumed the remains of his childhood dog Rosita to rebury them near his current home.“That’s really sweet,” host Molly O’Shea tells Karp.If you are looking to hear from some of tech’s most powerful people, you will increasingly find them on a constellation of shows and podcasts like Sourcery that provide a safe space for an industry that is wary, if not openly hostile, towards critical media outlets. Some of the new media outlets are created by the companies themselves
More than 1,000 Amazon workers warn rapid AI rollout threatens jobs and climate
More than 1,000 Amazon employees have signed an open letter expressing “serious concerns” about AI development, saying that the company’s “all-costs justified, warp speed” approach to the powerful technology will cause damage to “democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth.”The letter, published on Wednesday, was signed by the Amazon workers anonymously, and comes a month after Amazon announced mass layoff plans as it increases adoption of AI in its operations.Among the signatories are staffers in a range of positions, including engineers, product managers and warehouse associates.Reflecting broader AI concerns across the industry, the letter was also supported by more than 2,400 workers from companies including Meta, Google, Apple and Microsoft.The letter contains a range of demands for Amazon, concerning its impact on the workplace and the environment
Division and derision: how plans for an AFL stadium left Tasmania in pieces | Jack Snape
Whatever parliamentarians decide this week, the acrimonious debate over the Macquarie Point plan in Hobart has been damagingIn a state with a rich history of activism, Sunday was a protest against a protest. Around 15,000 braved the rain to gather at Hobart’s parliament house to tell the soon-to-vote crossbenchers: “Yes stadium.”The AFL’s invitation in 2023 for Tasmania to join the mainland’s premier competition is arguably the greatest gift in Australian sport. The condition of that offer however, that the poorest state builds an expensive stadium on a precious parcel of land, has been described as “unconscionable”.Even the project’s lead proponent, premier Jeremy Rockliff, accepts for many the deal is not perfect
Middlesex CCC chief executive investigated after complaint by staff member
The Middlesex County Cricket Club chief executive, Andrew Cornish, has taken leave of absence from the club following an allegation of misconduct made by another member of staff.The Guardian has learned that Middlesex have handed the complaint over to the Cricket Regulator, which has launched an investigation into the matter.Cornish is understood to have stepped away from the club 10 days ago. Middlesex declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian, but the club’s board is expected to inform staff on Monday about Cornish’s absence.Cornish denies any inappropriate behaviour, and he has claimed to be unaware of the details of any complaints made against him
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