Magic spoil Cooper Flagg’s return as Wendell Carter Jr. delivers late winner

The finish belonged to Orlando.

Wendell Carter Jr. dunked home the go-ahead basket with 1.4 seconds left, lifting the Magic to a 115-114 home win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

Orlando closed the game on a 5-0 run to erase a late Dallas lead.

Cooper Flagg had just delivered a three-point play with 37.3 seconds remaining to put the Mavericks up four. But Jalen Suggs answered with a three-pointer, and after Flagg missed a jumper on the next possession, Suggs found Carter inside for the decisive slam.

Tristan da Silva led Orlando with 19 points off the bench. Suggs added 17 points and seven assists, Paolo Banchero finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Carter scored 15.

The night marked Flagg’s return after missing eight games with a sprained left foot. The rookie finished with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and four blocks in 26 minutes.

“I thought he looked good on both ends,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told reporters. “He made big plays down the stretch.”

Klay Thompson scored 24 points for Dallas, hitting seven three-pointers, while Khris Middleton added 19.

Still, the Mavericks couldn’t get a shot off on the final possession and fell to 21-41.