\nThe Longhorns have now Terry as the acting coach for the remainder of the season. <\/p>\n
Beard, 49, was in his second season as the head coach of the Longhorns and had led Texas to a 29-13 record.<\/p>\n
Before his suspension, Beard had the Longhorns sitting at 7-1 overall and ranked as the No. 6 team in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nJAN 5 LUKA AS ALL-STAR STARTER?<\/strong><\/p>\nDallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic missed out on being an All-Star starter last season due to the slow start he had by his extraordinarily high standards. This season, though, it doesn\u2019t look like that will be the case.<\/p>\n\n\nWith the first batch of fan-voting returns in, Doncic joins Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 LeBron James and Golden State Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry as the top-3 vote-getters in the Western Conference. James leads all players with a little over 3.1 million votes, while Curry is edging out Doncic for the top guard spot in the West by less than 400,000 votes.<\/p>\n\n\nHere are the full numbers from the first All-Star voting returns:<\/p>\n\n\nJAN 3 MAVS NEXT TWO OPPONENTS STRUGGLING?<\/strong><\/p>\nMany expected the Dallas Mavericks’ next two matchups \u2013 both home games against the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans \u2013 to be really tough. And that still might still be the case, as the Mavs are still dealing with several injuries and have barely squeaked by three of their last four games against inferior opponents. However, there is a chance that Dallas is catching Boston and New Orleans at a good time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nThe Celtics are the best team in the Eastern Conference by a half-game, but they’ve lost two in a row \u2013 including a 150-117 beatdown at the hands of the OKC Thunder on Tuesday night \u2013 and are just 5-5 over their last 10 games. Boston had its way with Dallas in a 125-112 win at TD Garden on Nov. 23, so the Mavs should have some extra juice when the Celtics visit American Airlines Center on Thursday night.<\/p>\n\n\nAfter that, the Mavs will face the Pelicans at AAC on Saturday, and Zion Williamson will be sidelined for that matchup due to a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least three weeks. Williamson missed the first Mavs-Pelicans game in the third game of the season on Oct. 25, but a shorthanded New Orleans squad still came away with a 113-111 win after a Luka Doncic 3-point heave at the buzzer hit off the iron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nLike Boston, New Orleans has also lost two games in a row and are 5-5 in its last 10 games. After sitting at the top of the Western Conference for a little bit, the Pelicans are now in third-place with the Mavs just 1.5 games behind them in the fourth spot. Although the injury-riddled Mavs are riding a seven-game win streak and arguably running on fumes at this point, they should still have a lot of motivation to extend the streak at least a few more games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nJAN 2 DONOVAN MITCHELL SCORES 71<\/strong><\/p>\nThe NBA has a new single-game season-high for scoring after Donovan Mitchell put up 71 in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 145-134 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mitchell’s scoring total is the most by an NBA player in 17 years, since Kobe Bryant scored 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Mitchell’s scoring display was the eighth highest scoring total in league history.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\u201cTo be there in the record book with guys like Wilt is truly humbling,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI always believed I could be one of the best players in the league. I\u2019m speechless and blessed to be in the company of that greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nMitchell is averaging\u00a029.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 34 games this season. He’s led the Cavs to a 24-14 record and the team ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nDEC 30 MUST-WATCH DIRK TRIBUE<\/strong><\/p>\nDallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki has been celebrated tirelessly this week and for good reason.<\/p>\n
Before the Mavs beat up on the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, Dirk Nowitzki\u2019s long-awaited statue was unveiled in front of American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n\n\nOn Friday, the Mavs released an \u201cAll Four One\u201d video tribute to Nowitzki, which is narrated by Brian Dameris. You can watch the entire heartfelt tribute here:<\/p>\n
DEC 29 LUKA GETS HIS \u2018RECOVERY BEERS\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m tired as hell. I need a recovery beer,\u201d said Luka Doncic after breaking records with his 60-point triple-double in the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 improbable comeback win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n\n\nMichelob ULTRA, which is the official beer sponsor of the NBA, heard Doncic loud and clear, and they hooked him up with many \u2018recovery beers.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cLuka, enjoy these recovery beers on us,\u201d the note on the beer tower in front of Doncic\u2019s locker read. \u201cCongrats on making NBA history. Remember, it\u2019s only worth it if you enjoy it. Cheers, Michelob ULTRA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nHopefully Doncic enjoyed himself without going overboard, because the Mavs take on the Houston Rockets tonight in search of their fifth straight win.<\/p>\n
DEC 27 LUKA’S MAVS MIRACLE<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Dallas Mavericks\u00a0on Tuesday took on the New York Knicks and\u00a0won 126-121 in overtime, improving their record to 19-16 on the season. <\/p>\n\n\nBut Luka Doncic’s achievement is somehow bigger than all of that.<\/p>\n
Doncic finished with 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, which marked the second-ever 60-point triple-double in NBA history. He set a new franchise record for points in a single game, which was previously held by Dirk Nowitzki. Doncic also broke a tie with Nowitzki for the most 50-point performances in team history with three.<\/p>\n
“How ‘Bout That Luka’s” reaction to the incredible feat?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired as hell,” he said. “I need a recovery beer.\u201d<\/p>\n
DEC 25 LUKA CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS WITH COWBOY HAT<\/strong><\/p>\nYou can say Luka Doncic has fully embraced being a Texan.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving at the American Airlines Center for their Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic came in donning a cowboy hat and boots.<\/p>\n
After scoring 50 in Friday’s win against the Houston Rockets, Cowboy Luka is dressing for success and what will hopefully be a legendary Christmas encore.<\/p>\n
DEC 23 PACERS COULD EXTEND MYLES TURNER?<\/strong><\/p>\nMyles Turner has been linked to the Dallas Mavericks in trade rumors for many years now, but we’ve yet to see any official smoke about a potential Turner-to-Dallas deal this year. In fact, Turner might not be traded at all.<\/p>\n
According to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Turner and the Pacers are both open to contract extension talks. Turner is currently making $18 million in the final year of his contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pacers can offer Turner up to $19.1 million more this year on top of his $18 million salary to get him to his individual max of $37.1 million for the 2022-23 season\u2026and then drop his salary in the following seasons,” Shams wrote.<\/p>\n
He also mentions that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors are the teams that have shown interest in Turner over the last few months.<\/p>\n
Despite the annual trade noise that surrounds Turner and the Pacers, it wouldn’t be a shock if both sides decide to continue their partnership. Turner enjoys Indiana, and the Pacers are currently sitting at eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, just two games back of the sixth-seeded New York Knicks. This leads us to believe that there is truth to the idea of Turner and the Pacers wanting to work out an extension as opposed to this news just being trade leverage from Indiana’s end.<\/p>\n
If a contract extension can’t be reached in the next month, then the Turner rumors will pick up again. We’ll continue to monitor the situation on the Mavs’ end.<\/p>\n
DEC 21 NBA FINES JKIDD<\/strong><\/p>\nOn Wednesday, ahead of the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 second game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in three days, the NBA announced that it has fined coach Jason Kidd $25,000 after he was ejected from Monday night\u2019s 116-106 loss.<\/p>\n
After Luka Doncic said some not-so-nice things to Rodney Mott when he received a no-call, he received two technical fouls quickly and was ejected. Both Doncic and Kidd were appalled by the swift ejection. Kidd then went onto the court to confront the officials for what had transpired and used some choice language as well \u2014 which resulted in his pockets being $25,000 thinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here because I have to be here. I already gave up money, so I don\u2019t want to give up anymore,\u201d said a frustrated Kidd after Monday\u2019s game. \u201cNo questions. … They were the better team tonight and we\u2019ll go from there. Thanks for showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hopefully, Mavs fans can say \u201cthanks for showing up\u201d to the team they support if there\u2019s a big bounce-back performance on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
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