Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd described the officials' performance as "terrible" and "unacceptable" after Cooper Flagg was denied a late foul in Saturday's defeat to the Houston Rockets.

The Mavs slipped to 19-30 for the season following a 111-107 defeat at Toyota Center, their fourth loss in succession.

But things could have been very different, had a foul been called when Flagg was driving to the basket in the closing stages, with the number one overall draft pick subsequently missing a layup that would have tied the game with 25 seconds to play.

Just two days on from his 49-point showing against the Charlotte Hornets, Flagg finished with 34 points, shooting 13-of-25 from the field and 7-of-10 from free-throw attempts.

And Kidd was infuriated by the fact his star man did not get a couple more trips to the free-throw line.

"I saw a foul. [Officials] Sean [Wright], Simone [Jelks] and Jason [Goldenberg] were awful tonight," Kidd said. 

"The referees were unacceptable. It's a foul, and he needs to be at the free-throw line. 

"Now, does he make both? That's up to the player, but the referees did not do their job. They were terrible."

Final. @Chime // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/k8oysPppzJ

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 1, 2026

Kidd also suggested Flagg's attempts to play through contact resulted in him being denied the call, adding: "He's going to continue to keep going until they blow the whistle. 

"There are a lot of fouls missed with this young man. Maybe they just don't know his game yet, but that's who he is. He's going to continue to keep driving. He's not going to get discouraged. 

"Tonight, he backed up what he did the other night – he put his team in a position to win the game or to tie the game."

The Rockets spread the points around, with six players finishing in double figures, including Kevin Durant on 13. 

Durant was also impressed by Flagg's display, which saw the 19-year-old add five assists and 12 rebounds, saying: "He's figured it out. He understands that he's tough to stop."