The Dallas Mavericks could fire general manager Nico Harrison as the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade reaches its breaking point.
Doncic flourished in Los Angeles, scoring a game-high 38 points, leading the Lakers 8-3 in a 121-111 victory in Charlotte.
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 30 points propelled Milwaukee past Dallas 116-114, despite No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s career-best showing (26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block).
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If the loss wasn’t enough, the “late Nico” chants in Dallas, which have become all too common since the Doncic trade, overshadowed the star’s rookie big night.
The Mavericks, still without Anthony Davis due to injury, fell to 3-8 — second-worst in the West — in a dismal start to the season.
And rumors are growing louder around Harrison’s future nine months after his shocking Doncic-Davis trade gamble backfired spectacularly.
Dallas fans continue to vent their frustrations as “Fire Nico” chants rang out around the American Airlines Center, with the man himself in attendance during Tuesday’s contest (all times AEDT).
The chants and discussions surrounding Harrison’s fate only intensify with each passing defeat and, above all, increase the disenchantment of the fans.
As NBA veteran Marc Stein said, “If Harrison’s position as the team’s primary decision-maker isn’t already untenable, well, you can certainly see that status from here.”
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the growing and virtually incessant negativity surrounding the franchise is wearing down and indeed disrupting ownership,” Stein wrote.
“While (Mavericks owner Patrick) Dumont apparently prefers to give Harrison more time, questioning whether an in-season change is the wisest path for the Mavericks to attempt to move forward after Doncic has become inevitable at the highest levels of the organization…
“If Dumont ultimately concludes that a mid-term change is the best solution – although it is by no means clear at this point where the Mavericks would turn in terms of a long-term successor – it is believed that this step would be taken not only for its potential to change the mood and as a means of trying to win back alienated fans…
“But also assuming that the front office executive who engineered and pushed for the widely criticized Doncic deal can no longer be the one trying to steer the organization beyond that deal.”
ESPN reporter and Dallas insider Tim MacMahon also reported on the uncertainty surrounding Harrison’s tenure.
“At this point, I think the question is when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired. And there’s a very, very high probability that it will be mid-season,” MacMahon said on the Brian Windhorst and Hoop Collective podcast.
In addition to Davis being sidelined again with a calf issue, Dallas still remains without star guard Kyrie Irving while he rehabs from an ACL injury.
Although the start to Davis’ Mavs career has been less than ideal after a groin injury derailed the end of his 2024/25 campaign, MacMahon in a recent ESPN segment suggested that the 10-time All-Star would not be put on the trading block.
At least not on Harrison’s watch.
“Nico would never do that. They are – by his own definition – in the second year of their three-to-four-year window,” MacMahon said.
However, MacMahon suggested he thought Dallas should consider shedding Davis to build around Flagg, who the team landed with the No. 1 overall pick at just 1.8 percent lottery odds.
“They were lucky to have Cooper Flagg,” MacMahon continued.
“At some point, I would say immediately, the franchise needs to focus on Cooper Flagg. Let me just remind you that in successfully building a Finals team around five times All-NBA First Team before entering his prime, the face of the franchise, Luka Doncic, you gave up your first round picks for ’27, ’28, ’29…”
7 FEET 9! – “The greatest basketball player” | 00:37
CADE’S HUGE TRIPLE-DOUBLE TRACK PISTONS IN OT
Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ 3-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135, extending the Pistons’ winning streak to seven games.
In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely survived a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with its ninth straight loss.
“We knew how important this game was to us,” Jenkins said. “We weren’t going to let anything stop us from getting that 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 that’s going to lead this team no matter what we do,” Detroit’s Jalen Duren said of Cunningham.
“And seeing him fight and become the great player that he is gave us 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.
CJ McCollum, who led Washington with 42 points, sank a floater with 14 seconds left to give the Wizards a 126-121 lead.
But Jenkins, who hadn’t played in three games, made a three-pointer with three seconds left and, after a Kyshawn George free throw for Washington, made another three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 127-127 and force overtime.
“I know what I’m capable of. I just had to believe in myself and trust my work,” Jenkins said.
Added Duren: “He never backs down from the moment. He’s going to be a great player in this league and it 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 made a free throw to create the final margin and McCollum missed two three-point attempts in the final seconds.
WIGGINS’ LAST-SECOND DUNK WINS IT FOR MIAMI
In more overtime drama, Norman Powell scored 33 points and Andrew Wiggins added 23, including the game-winning dunk at the overtime buzzer to lift Miami over Cleveland 140-138, ending the Cavaliers’ four-game winning streak to leave both clubs 7-4.
Jaime Jaquez’s jumper with 7.1 seconds remaining put Miami up 128-128 to force overtime.
Powell made two free throws with 6.5 seconds left for a 138-135 Miami advantage, but Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 28 points, made a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to tie the game.
Miami, however, won at the buzzer when Wiggins completed an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Nikola Jovic.
Another tension-filled contest took place in Orlando, where Desmond Bane’s 3-point basket 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-pointers before scoring the game-winner.
Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominant performance with 38 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 121-117 triumph in Chicago, missing 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 tied 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 over 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 Dyson Daniels’ Atlanta Hawks past the host Los Angeles Clippers 105-102.
Daniels had six points, eight assists and three steals as the Hawks improved to 6-5.
With this, the Australian extended his streak to 62 consecutive games with a steal, setting a Hawks franchise record in a streak dating back to December 14, 2024.
This is also the eighth-longest streak in NBA history and is one step away from tying Gary Payton’s record for the seventh-longest streak in history. Chris Paul holds the record with 108 consecutive games with a steal.
ALL RESULTS
Lakers 121 Hornets 111
Wizards 135 Pistons 137 (OT)
Trail Blazers 112 Magic 115
Horsemen 138 Heat 140 (OT)
Spurs 121 Bulls 117
$116 Nonconformists 114
Pelicans 98 Suns 121
Timber wolves 120 Jazz113
Falcons 105 Mowers 102
