LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Cooper Flagg scored 49 points — the most ever by a teenager in a single National Basketball Association (NBA) game — but it was not enough to save the Dallas Mavericks from a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

On a dominant night, the 19-year-old forward who was the top pick in last year’s NBA Draft sank a clutch three-pointer to tie the score 121-121 with barely 30 seconds remaining.

But in the game’s dying seconds, Flagg committed a turnover and immediately raced up the court and fouled fellow rookie star Kon Knueppel, who converted two free throws.

And Flagg then missed a potential tying 20-foot jump shot in the game’s final action, to end his record-breaking night on a bittersweet note.

Still, with his 49-point haul, Flagg blasted past a record set almost half a century ago by Cliff Robinson, who scored 45 points as a 19-year-old way back in 1980.

It was a third consecutive loss for the Mavericks, but a fifth straight win for the lowly Hornets, who sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Charlotte’s own star rookie Knueppel — a college roommate and teammate of Flagg — also managed a career-high night, with 34 points.