Frenzy became bedlam on the next play. Flagg talked trash to James, ran to his spot on the left wing, pivoted off the catch and nailed the shot before turning to exult with his future Mavericks varsity teammates, who cheered him on decked out in casual wear from their courtside seats.

While Cooper Flagg and Bronny James faced off in a packed arena on the campus of UNLV, the Nuggets and Bucks played a Summer League thriller in the sleepy gymnasium adjacent to the main event.

VJ Edgecombe started to groove to the music with Justin Edwards, then fired a handful of shots from the left wing of the Thomas & Mack Center court. Unfortunately for the 76ers, this occurred at 10:49 Thursday morning — not during the team’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs hours later.

The best of them was French point guard Nolan Traore, who looked like a guy who has played against men before (he played professionally in France last year) and was comfortable, finishing with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting and getting to the line six times. It was a promising start.

LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg’s Summer League debut Thursday gave us a glimpse of his future in Dallas. From running the offense to defending multiple positions, “Point Flagg” is already flashing upside — even if the shots didn’t fall. It’s early, but the vision, poise and potential are all very real.

Nate Williams and Reed Sheppard are the only players on the Rockets' roster playing in summer league. Williams isn't sweating his non-guaranteed contract.

No. 3 pick V.J. Edgecombe and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper expected to face off at Thomas & Mack Center at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Oklahoma City Thunder collected a 90-81 Summer League win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. It was the first of at least five exhibitions for the NBA champions in Las Vegas. They previously played three in a row at Utah.