Cooper Flagg entered Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in a tight race for the NBA Rookie of the Year award with his former Duke Blue Devils’ teammate Kon Knueppel.

Flagg, who was coming off a 51-point performance, likely needed another dominant game to shorten his odds of becoming the league’s top rookie. He delivered.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The budding Mavericks star scored 45 points in Dallas’ 134-128 win over the injury-depleted Lakers. The victory ended the Mavericks’ longest home losing streak in 32 years. He added nine assists and eight rebounds to his stat line as well.

“I think it’s definitely some sort of statement,” he told reporters, via ESPN. “But it just goes back to what I said: I’m confident in myself, and I know what I’m capable of. I’ll just let the rest of the stuff figure itself out.”

Flagg is the first rookie to have back-to-back games with at least 40 points since Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson did it during the 1996-97 season. The achievement came after he became the first teenager to score at least 50 points in a game when he had 51 points against the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

LAKERS SUPERSTAR LUKA DONČIĆ SUFFERS SEASON-ENDING INJURY

“I don’t know if he’s making a closing statement,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “I think he’s doing what he’s been doing all season. Being able to play different positions. Being able to be uncomfortable. He’s never complained and has delivered for us.

“Tonight, being able to do it on national television, it’s not easy. Especially coming off a 50-ball. He wants to win, and he helped the team win tonight.”

Flagg is leading the Mavericks, who improved to 25-53 with the win, with 20.8 points per game. He also averages 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Knueppel has been a bright spot for the Charlotte Hornets this season as they appear set to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. He’s third on the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game. He also averages 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Dallas has four games left to play, while Charlotte has three.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Israel announced that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Majid Khademi was killed in a precision strike, with an Israeli official noting that Quds Force’s special operations commander Asghar Bagheri was eliminated at the same time.

In a statement posted on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Khademi’s killing, accusing him of helping advance terrorist attacks abroad and overseeing surveillance of Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s crackdown on domestic protests.

“Khademi wasn’t just any figure, he was effectively No. 2 within the IRGC, one of the few senior commanders who managed to survive multiple waves of Israeli and American targeting over the past year — until now,” a senior Israeli official told Fox News. “He kept moving, relocating, but ultimately he was hunted down and eliminated.

“He oversaw an intelligence apparatus that repeatedly failed to detect or prevent major Israeli and U.S. operations, including a series of strategic surprises that exposed deep vulnerabilities inside Iran’s security system.”

IRAN’S INTERNET BLACKOUT HIDING STRIKE DAMAGE AND SUPPRESSING DISSENT, ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY

Notably, Khademi was “deeply involved in attempts to penetrate U.S. systems, including efforts to breach the Pentagon,” and “coordinated extensively with Russia,” according to the official.

“His removal marks a significant blow to Iran’s intelligence leadership at a time when the regime is already under sustained pressure,” the official added.

Bagheri was also killed at the same time as the strike that took out Khademi, the official noted, but the IDF has yet to officially confirm his killing.

TRUMP DECLARES ‘I GOT HIM BEFORE HE GOT ME’ AFTER IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER KILLED IN STRIKE

“Bagheri was directly involved in recruiting agents across the Middle East and orchestrating attacks against American targets in Iraq and Syria — including operations that led to U.S. casualties,” the senior official told Fox News.

Khademi spent decades in intelligence and counter-espionage roles while rising through Iran’s security apparatus.

Before his appointment, Khademi headed the Guard’s Intelligence Protection Organization, charged with internal surveillance and counter-intelligence, and held senior roles in Iran’s defense ministry.

The IRGC intelligence arm is one of Iran’s most powerful security bodies, with a central role in domestic surveillance to counter foreign influence, and often operating in parallel with the civilian intelligence ministry.

Fox News’ Trey Yingst and Reuters contributed to this report.

Savannah Guthrie returned to NBC’s “Today” on Monday after a two-month absence as the search for her missing mother continues. 

“Good morning, welcome to ‘Today’ on this Monday morning. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Guthrie told viewers. 

“Here we go, ready or not, let’s do the news,” she added, alongside co-anchor Craig Melvin.

“So good to have you back,” he said.

Guthrie wore a yellow dress as Melvin wore a yellow tie in a nod to the search for her mother.

Nancy Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1, prompting her daughter and longtime NBC host to step away from the network’s flagship morning show. The nationwide search for her mother has made national headlines but so far elicited few clues about her whereabouts or fate.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE BREAKS DOWN OVER POSSIBILITY HER MOM WAS TARGETED BECAUSE OF HER FAME, APOLOGIZES TO FAMILY

Guthrie was all business at the outset, teasing stories on the war with Iran, President Donald Trump’s Easter morning social media post, rising gas prices and the Artemis II mission to space.

Once Guthrie said she was happy to be home,” NBC’s morning show did the news as usual until the 7:30 am ET hour kicked off and Guthrie noted the “love” from fans. 

“Some beautiful signs out there,” Guthrie said of the crowd gathered at the plaza outside the show’s Rockefeller Center studio. 

“I’m excited to see them, give them all a hug,” she continued. “I’ve been really feeling the love so much.” 

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE’S EASTER MESSAGE REVEALS ANGUISH AS MOM MISSING 63 DAYS

Savannah Guthrie released an Easter message on Sunday, when she discussed her family’s agonizing struggle and the universal feeling of dealing with unanswerable questions and the absence of a clear resolution.

She said her perspective began to shift as she reflected on the period between Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, a span she described as often overlooked but central to understanding faith in moments of uncertainty.

“It is the darkness that makes this morning’s light so magnificent, so blindingly beautiful,” Guthrie said. “It is all the brighter because it is so desperately needed.”

Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been taken from her home against her will and was last seen when her son-in-law dropped her off at home around 10 p.m. the night before she went missing. In the early morning hours, a masked man was seen on her doorstep and appeared to be armed with a handgun.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS

At around 2:30 a.m., her pacemaker made its last sync with her Apple devices, indicating a potential timeframe for when she was taken out of the home. Her watch and iPhone were recovered inside. 

A series of unverified ransom notes were sent to media outlets, including TMZ and a local Tucson station, leading many to believe the disappearance is somehow financially motivated. No suspects have been publicly identified. 

This is a developing story, more to come…