James Borrego will be dismissed as coach of the Charlotte Hornets, according to reports.
The 44-year-old took up the role in 2018 and reached the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons in Charlotte.
However, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets will relieve Borrego of his duties after failing to reach this year's NBA playoffs.
Despite winning 11 of their last 15 games in the regular season to earn a spot in the play-in tournament, they fell at the first hurdle as they were beaten 132-103 by the Atlanta Hawks.
Borrego finished the 2021-22 season with a record of 43-39, and an overall record of 138-163 in his time with the Hornets.
The Dallas Mavericks were united in their appreciation of Jalen Brunson after he scored 31 points in their 126-118 road win against the Utah Jazz to take a 2-1 series lead.
Brunson, coming off a career-high 41 points in Dallas' upset Game 2 win, was terrific once again, hitting 12-of-22 shots and all seven of his free throws, while also dishing five assists and committing only one turnover in 35 minutes.
Those 35 minutes would have been more if he was not forced to leave the floor in the second quarter for a short period of play after a hard hit in the back from Royce O'Neale, but he was able to return and carry his side down the stretch.
While Brunson was at the heart of everything the Mavericks were doing, he told post-game media about how he was inspired by watching his teammates battling while he was receiving treatment on his back.
"I saw how hard the team was playing when I was laying back there," he said.
"It gave me a little mojo to come back out there and do my thing. We’re all on the same page, we’re all clicking, we’re all talking and communicating."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was careful to not get ahead of himself, but he gave praise to his starting backcourt.
"When you look at Spencer [Dinwiddie] and 'JB', those two have the ball, and there's no panic," he said.
"We always believe we're going to make the right play, share the ball on the offensive end, and then help each other on the defensive end – and that's what we did.
"In a hostile environment, against a very good team that's well-coached, we put ourselves in a position to win the game and found a way.
"I just told the guys – we haven’t done anything. They won at our place and now we won here.
"We need to put this game behind us and figure out what we need to do better."
Dallas forward Maxi Kleber – who is shooting a scorching 14-of-21 from three-point range in the series – then took his turn to pat Brunson on the back, calling him "fun to watch".
"His shot-creating and shot-making has been amazing all season," he said. "But the determination he has coming down the stretch to hit those big shots, and the confidence he has, is just fun to watch."
Far from a sore loser, Jazz coach Quin Snyder also paid respect to the man who has authored two straight losses for a sputtering Utah side.
"[Brunson is] unique in his physical strength and his ability to kind of keep his dribble alive in the lane where he really uses his body," he said.
"He’s able to play with his feet on the floor, so if you do try to come over and help, he has the ability to find people and spray the ball out."
Game 4 will remain in Utah – where Luka Doncic is expected to return – before heading back to Dallas for Game 5.
Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton will miss the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks' first-round series against the Chicago Bulls after spraining a ligament in his left knee.
Middleton, 30, averaged 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game this season, but has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL after coming down awkwardly in the fourth quarter of Game 2 against the Bulls.
The scoring forward played a key role in the Bucks' championship last season, increasing his averages to 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists while playing over 40 minutes per contest during the 2020-21 postseason.
In the 16 games Middleton has missed this season, the Bucks are 7-9, going 3-5 on the road.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has played in nine games this season without his All-Star teammate, and has scored 26.6 points per game at 49 per cent shooting – both down from his full-season averages of 29.9 points at 55 per cent.
However, in the one game this season between the Bucks and Bulls where Middleton was absent, Milwaukee dominated 126-98, as Jrue Holiday picked up the slack with 27 points and seven assists.
According to the Bucks, Middleton will be re-assessed in two weeks.
The series is locked at 1-1 after two games, and heads to Chicago for Game 3 and Game 4.
Klay Thompson was full of praise for Jordan Poole as the Golden State Warriors claimed a 3-0 series lead, defeating the Denver Nuggets 118-113 on Thursday.
Stephen Curry notably played over 30 minutes in the Warriors' road victory, with the recent three-guard lineup of Curry, Thompson and Poole just proving too much.
After only three playoff games in his career, the 22-year-old Poole is leading the Dubs in scoring over the series with 28.7 points per game.
It is not just volume Poole is scoring at but the efficiency, scoring 27 points on nine-of-13 shooting in Thursday's win, with Thompson asserting he is vital to Golden State's NBA title aspirations.
"These three games, I mean, I don't remember a better start for a playoff debut for a guard," Thompson said post-game. "It's incredible what Jordan is doing.
"We need him to go where we want to go, and we need him to keep doing what he's doing.
Opposition defensive schemes effectively have to pick their poison with two the NBA's best three-point shooters ever and Poole, who shot at an astounding 58.8 per cent from the perimeter in the opening two games against Denver.
Thompson is well aware of the spacing Golden State's three-guard lineup provides, but believes it is complemented by Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.
"At times, yeah [I feel the space]," Thompson said. "I mean, I had a really good look with like a minute left that I missed – I wish I could get that one back, but that's okay.
"What a fun night at the office. The ball's just flying around, and we played great down the stretch on both sides of the ball. When we move the ball and we trust each other, we'll get open looks.
"We're all great shooters, and Draymond's play-making, and Andrew [Wiggins] is a great shooter as well."
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant took joy in inflicting pain on the Minnesota Timberwolves fans in attendance of their 104-95 win.
Memphis' win, to go up 2-1 in the seven-game series, came after not taking their first lead until 7:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies fell down by 26 points in the second quarter, and were able to pull the margin back to seven points at half-time, before the Timberwolves extended it back out to 25 points in the third term.
Trailing 83-62, the Grizzlies scored 21 consecutive points to tie things up, before pushing on and finishing the game on an eye-watering 50-13 run, including a 37-12 final quarter.
Ja Morant struggled to score as the Timberwolves backed off him and dared him to shoot long jump shots all night, finishing five-of-18 from the field, but he worked his way to a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks – the first playoff triple-double in Grizzlies history.
Before the game, Morant told reporters he wanted to send the Wolves fans home "mad", and he stood by his comments when chatting with post-game media.
"[Backing up my comments felt] good," he said. "I'm disrespectful just like [Timberwolves fans] are disrespectful.
"That's why you saw me throw the ball in the air [at the end] – I asked for the ball [for that specific purpose].
"I know what we're capable of, and like I said this morning, that was our goal, to come and win games on the road and have their fans go home mad. There will probably be a lot of people drinking tonight [in Minnesota], with that 'L'."
Morant spoke about his team's never-say-die attitude, and gave a shout-out to the role players who he says "won this game for us".
"The message was just to continue to fight – go out and battle – because we all know the game is never over until there's zeroes on the clock at the end," he said.
"It's the same thing I've been saying all season about my teammates – they deserve a lot more respect and recognition for what they do for us on the floor.
"Us three [Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr and Dillon Brooks] struggled, but that's why we've got [Tyus Jones] and the rest of our teammates to pick us up. We're really the deepest team in the league, and we're so good.
"Those three guys [Jones, Brandon Clarke and Desmond Bane] were very big-time for us. Tyus coming in and being the floor general, controlling the pace and knocking down some big-time shots for us during that stretch where 'Des' and 'BC' were alongside of him.
"That picked us up – a lot of credit goes to those guys – I feel like they pretty much won this game for us."
A remarkable fourth quarter from the Memphis Grizzlies was the catalyst in their 104-95 win on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves, going up 2-1 in the series.
In the first quarter, in front of their home fans, it appeared that it was going to be all Timberwolves early as they got off to a scorching start, with Patrick Beverley scoring eight of the game's first 12 points as the hosts went up 12-0.
Both Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr collected two personal fouls each in the opening period as the Grizzlies went into the second quarter trailing 39-21. A much-improved defensive effort held the Wolves to 12 points in the second term, though, cutting the margin back to 51-44 at the half.
Memphis were unable to keep that momentum coming out of the break as Minnesota started the third frame on a 28-10 run, pulling away to a 79-54 lead.
But trailing 83-62 with 1:05 to play in the third quarter, the Grizzlies started their run. They would score 21 consecutive points to tie the game at 83-83 as Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke and Tyus Jones lifted the visitors.
As Karl-Anthony Towns struggled down the stretch – finishing with just eight points and five blocks with five fouls – the Grizzlies were firing on all cylinders, winning the last quarter 37-12 to open their lead up to 10 points for a relatively comfortable final few minutes.
Morant was a disappointing five-of-18 from the field for his 16 points and seven turnovers, but he added 10 rebounds and 10 assists as he stayed involved in other areas of the game.
He was supported beautifully by Bane who top-scored with 26 points, hitting seven-of-15 from long range, while Clarke had 20 points and eight rebounds on just nine field goal attempts. Jones posted a line of 11 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench, hitting all three of his threes.
Game 4 will remain in Minnesota before heading back to Memphis for Game 5.
Brunson and the bench boys
Dallas Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson carried his side to a 126-118 win against the Utah Jazz, with superstar teammate Luka Doncic watching from the sidelines.
Brunson scored a career-high 41 points in his last outing, before dropping 31 on 12-of-22 shooting in hostile territory on Thursday.
He was supported by a terrific shooting performance by the Mavericks reserves, as Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans and Josh Green combined to shoot 11-of-17 from three-point range. As a team, Dallas shot 42.9 per cent from beyond the arc (18-of-42).
The Jazz shot 56 per cent from the field in the loss, but were minus 12 in the nine minutes with Donovan Mitchell sitting on the bench. Mitchell finished with 32 points (10-of-21 shooting) with six assists.
Rudy Gobert did not miss a field goal or free throw for 15 points and seven rebounds, but the Jazz struggled to get stops while he and Mike Conley were on the floor, as both players finished with a plus/minus of minus 16.
The win is the Mavericks' first in Utah since 2016.
Warriors shoot their way to 3-0 lead
In a game where both teams shot the lights out, the Golden State Warriors showed once again that it is not wise to get into a shoot-out with the team from the Bay Area, beating the Denver Nuggets 118-113.
The Warriors shot 55 per cent from the field and 45 per cent from long range (18-40) as their offense was clicking for most of the night.
Denver shot the ball well in their own right, finishing 50 per cent from the field and 44 per cent from deep (11-of-26), and even looked to take control in the third quarter, winning the term 30-18 and taking a 89-87 lead into the final period.
But that third quarter would be the Warriors' only slip-up, scoring at least 31 points in the other three as the Splash Brothers – now with a third member – were unstoppable.
Stephen Curry came off the bench once again to score 27 points (nine-of-17 shooting, three-of-nine from deep), Klay Thompson looked back to his best with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, hitting six of his 13 threes, while Jordan Poole continues to show he is no flash in the pan, scoring 27 points on nine-of-13 shooting.
For Denver, MVP favourite Nikola Jokic tried his heart out, finishing with 37 points (14-of-22 shooting) with 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and he was plus three in his 38 minutes, meaning the Nuggets were outscored by eight in his 10 minutes on the bench.
The win moves the Warriors to a 3-0 lead, with Game 4 to be played in Denver, before returning home for Game 5.
Luka Doncic was ruled out of Game 3 between the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
Mavs point guard Doncic missed the first two games of the Western Conference first-round series with a left calf strain.
The Slovenian was upgraded to questionable after taking part in full practice on Wednesday but shortly before tip-off it was determined that he would not feature at Vivint Arena.
Doncic will now aim to make his return from the injury sustained in the final outing of the regular season in Game 4 on Saturday.
Dallas and Utah took a game apiece from the opening two clashes, leaving the series tied at 1-1.
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