NBA 2006 SCORING LEADERS

 

MAVS LEGEND ATTENDED LUKA DONCIC DEBUT

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Dallas Mavericks just lost their franchise player.

Luka Doncic made his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers, starting a new era in Purple & Gold basketball.

Notably, they did so while another Mavericks great was in attendance.

As Jovan Buha on X (via NBA Central) showed, Dirk Nowitzki went to Crypto.com Arena to watch his former teammate’s debut with his new team.

This speaks volumes about several things.

On the one hand, it shows just how close Nowitzki grew to be with the Slovenian star, and it was a nice gesture to watch him showing up in person to be present at such a big event.

On the other hand, Nowitzki has clearly taken a side in this situation.

GM Nico Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic was reportedly motivated by concerns about his work ethic and conditioning.

By going to Los Angeles and attending another franchise’s game, Nowitzki’s actions are speaking volumes.

He clearly disagreed with the Mavs’ decision to let go of their 25-year-old star, which shocked the NBA world to its core.

The trade was so bad on paper that even Mavs fans are complaining about getting a future first-ballot Hall of Famer like Anthony Davis.

Luka is so good and has such a bright future ahead of him that he’s making a trade for a player of Davis’ caliber look like a steal.

Nico Harrison will have a tough time changing the narrative, and once you infuriate a guy like Nowitzki, you know you messed up.

- Ernesto Cova

DIRK NOWITZKI ON THE 'GOAT' DEBATE

 

LUKA DONCIC'S GAME WINNER IN IN MAVS-WOLVES SHOCKS SOCIAL MEDIA

 

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-108 in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on a Luka Doncic game winner.

Doncic had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, his fourth career postseason triple-double, the fifth most in NBA postseason history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Kyrie Irving added 20 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, scoring 13 points in the final frame. Dereck Lively II had 14 points and nine rebounds, going 6-for-6 from the field.

The Mavericks trailed by as much as 18 points in the second quarter, tied for the third-largest comeback win this postseason. Dallas outscored Minnesota 61-48 in the second half.

The Mavericks trailed by two with 12.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter before Doncic hit a step-back 3-pointer over Rudy Gobert with 3.1 seconds left. It was Doncic's second career go-ahead 3-point basket in the final five seconds of a playoff game. He is the fifth player with multiple go-ahead 3-point field goals in the final five seconds of a playoff game since 1997-98 (play-by-play era).

Social media reacted accordingly to Doncic's 3-pointer, including Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

- ESPN Staff

MARK CUBAN WORKING ON $3.8B SALE OF DALLAS MAVERICKS TO SANDS CASINO FAMILY, AP SOURCE SAYS

AP Photo 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday night.

The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren't being made public.

Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to report the potential sale.

The company controlled by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team.

Cuban said almost a year ago he was interested in partnering with Sands. He has been a proponent of legalizing gambling in Texas, an issue that didn't make it out of the state Legislature in a biennial session that ended earlier this year.

NBA: LEBRON JAMES WITH MIAMI HEAT BEATS DALLAS MAVS

Dallas Mavericks yesterday beat Miami Heat 104-110.