MVP contender Luka Doncic is flourishing in LA. Doncic scored a game-high 38 points with seven assists and six rebounds to lead the 8-3 Lakers in a 121-111 victory at Charlotte.
Meanwhile Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 30 points points powered Milwaukee past Dallas 116-114, despite a career-best showing from No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg (26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block).
If the loss wasn’t enough, ‘fire Nico’ chants overshadowed the star’s rookie big night.
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The Mavericks, still without Anthony Davis due to injury, fell to 3-8 — second-worst in the West — in a sluggish start to the season.
And rumblings are growing louder around Dallas general manager Nico Harrison’s future nine months on from the shocking Doncic-Davis trade.
Dallas fans continue to voice their frustrations as ‘fire Nico’ chants sounded around American Airlines Center, with the man himself in attendance, during Tuesday’s contest (all times AEDT).
Both the chants and chatter around Harrison’s future amid the team’s woes and fan discernment are only intensifying.
As veteran NBA insider Marc Stein put it, “If Harrison’s position as the team’s lead decision-maker is not yet untenable, well, you can certainly see that status from here”.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the rising and virtually ceaseless negativity that surrounds the franchise is indeed wearing on and troubling ownership,” Stein wrote.
“While (Mavericks owner Patrick) Dumont seemingly prefers to give Harrison more time, contemplating whether an in-season change is the wisest course for the Mavericks to try to forge ahead post-Doncic has become unavoidable at the highest levels of the organization…
“If Dumont eventually concludes that a mid-stream change is the best course — while it is by no means clear at this juncture where the Mavericks would turn in terms of a long-term successor — it’s believed that step would be taken not only for its vibe shift potential and as a means to try to win back alienated fans …
“But also based on the premise that the front office executive who conceived and pushed for the widely criticized Doncic deal can no longer be the one trying to pilot the organization past it.”
ESPN report and Dallas insider Tim MacMahon also flagged uncertainty around Harrison’s tenure.
“At this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired. And there is a very, very strong likelihood that (it) will be mid-season,” Macmahon said on the Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective podcast.
In addition to to Davis being sidelined again with a calf issue, Dallas remains without star guard Kyrie Irving (ACL).
7 FOOT 9! – ‘Tallest Basketball Player’ | 00:37
CADE’S HUGE TRIPLE-DOUBLE LEADS PISTONS IN OT
Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’s 3-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games.
In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss.
“We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.”
Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two blocked shots as Detroit improved to 9-2.
“He’s the one who is going to lead this team whatever we do,” Detroit’s Jalen Duren said of Cunningham.
“And to see him fight through and be the great player he is gave us the confidence.” Jenkins came off the bench for a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds while Duren added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons.
C.J. McCollum, who led Washington with 42 points, sank a floater with 14 seconds remaining to give the Wizards a 126-121 lead.
But Jenkins, who hadn’t played in three games, sank a three-pointer with three seconds remaining and, after a Kyshawn George free throw for Washington, hit another three-pointer at the buzzer to equalize at 127-127 and force overtime.
“I know what I’m capable of. I just had to believe in myself and trust in my work,” Jenkins said.
Added Duren: “He never shies away from the moment. He’s going to be a great player in this league and that showed tonight.”
In the extra session, Duncan Robinson’s three-pointer gave Detroit the lead and Green’s dunk made it 136-133 with 25 seconds remaining.
George added a layup for the Wizards and Duren sank a free throw to create the final margin and McCollum missed two three-point attempts in the dying seconds.
WIGGINS’ LAST-SECOND DUNK WINS IT FOR MIAMI
In another overtime drama, Norman Powell scored 33 points and Andrew Wiggins added 23, including the winning dunk at the overtime buzzer to lift Miami over Cleveland 140-138, ending the Cavaliers’ four-game win streak to leave both clubs 7-4.
Jaime Jaquez’s jumper with 7.1 seconds remaining lifted Miami level at 128-128 to force overtime.
Powell sank two free throws with 6.5 seconds left for a 138-135 Miami edge but Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 28 points, made a three-pointer with 0.4 of a second remaining to equalize.
Miami, however, won at the buzzer when Wiggins made an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Nikola Jovic.
Another tension-packed contest came in Orlando, where Desmond Bane’s 3-pointer at the final buzzer gave the host Magic a 115-112 home victory over Portland.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 28 points while Bane added 22, missing all five of his three-point shots before hitting the game winner.
Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominating performance with 38 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs in a 121-117 triumph at Chicago, missing the injured Josh Giddey.
The Frenchman was 11-of-19 from the floor, including six-of-nine from three-point range, and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
James Harden matched a club record with his seventh triple double for the Clippers with 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds but the team’s losing streak reached five games.
Grayson Allen scored 42 points, hitting 12-of-17 shots from the floor and 10-of-15 three-pointers to lead host Phoenix over New Orleans 121-98.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points and Julius Randle added 27 to power Minnesota’s 120-113 victory at Utah.
Czech reserve guard Vit Krejci scored a career-high 28 points, hitting nine-of-13 shots from the floor — eight-of-10 from three-point range — to lead the Dyson Daniels’ Atlanta Hawks over the host Los Angeles Clippers 105-102.
Daniels tallied six points, eight assists and three steals as the Hawks improved to 6-5.
With it, the Aussie extended his streak to 62 consecutive games with a steal, setting a Hawks franchise record in a run that dates back to December 14, 2024.
It’s also the eighth-longest streak in NBA history and is one shy of tying Gary Payton’s record for the seventh-longest streak in history. Chris Paul has the record with 108-straight games with a steal.
ALL RESULTS
Lakers 121 Hornets 111
Wizards 135 Pistons 137 (OT)
Trail Blazers 112 Magic 115
Cavaliers 138 Heat 140 (OT)
Spurs 121 Bulls 117
Bucks 116 Mavericks 114
Pelicans 98 Suns 121
Timberwolves 120 Jazz 113
Hawks 105 Clippers 102
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