Dallas, TX
Daniss Jenkins sparks rally but Detroit Pistons fall in OT to Dallas
Where is Cade Cunningham in the MVP conversation?
Following the Pistons’ big win over the Boston Celtics, Omari and Bryce break down the improvements they’ve seen from the franchise star player.
DALLAS — A late comeback attempt fell short for the Detroit Pistons.
They fell to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime, 116-114, after recovering from a third-period 18-point deficit. A dunk by Anthony Davis gave the Mavericks the lead for good with 1:32 to play in overtime.
Cade Cunningham (29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) missed a short jumper with 7 seconds left that would’ve tied the game at 116, and Jalen Duren (17 points, 13 rebounds) couldn’t convert two offensive rebounds into a tip-in basket. Davis corralled the rebound with 0.9 seconds left, and the Mavericks called timeout.
The Pistons fouled Davis after the inbounds pass with a foul to give. Daniss Jenkins, who scored 11 points after halftime, stole the second inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds left but didn’t have enough time to get a shot off.
The Pistons trailed by 18 points with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Their bench unit was instrumental during a 31-11 run that gave the Pistons the lead again, 99-97, midway through the fourth quarter. They held Dallas to 38.5% shooting and forced nine turnovers in the second half.
No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg gave his Mavericks the lead, 110-109, with under 20 seconds to play with a midrange jumper. Isaiah Stewart was fouled by Davis on the other end with 3.4 seconds left, and he split the trip to the line to tie the game at 110. Klay Thompson missed a floater at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
‘Dallas’ unit leads Detroit back from big deficit
Down 86-68 with 4:57 to play in the third quarter, coach J.B. Bickerstaff looked to the end of his bench for a spark. Jenkins, Marcus Sasser and Paul Reed checked into the game for the first time in consecutive order, joining Ron Holland and Javonte Green. The Pistons have a Dallas-centric roster — Holland, Sasser and Jenkins are all from the city, and Cunningham is from nearby Arlington.
They led an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 10, tallying four steals during the stretch — two for Green and one each for Jenkins and Reed. Cunningham checked in for Green to open the fourth quarter, and the run continued. A 3-pointer from Jenkins, coast-to-coast layup by Holland and midrange jumper from Jenkins extended the run to 21-7, cutting the deficit to 93-89 with under 10 minutes to play.
As he has done several times this season, Jenkins rose to the moment in the final period. An entry pass from Jenkins to Holland created an open layup to slash Dallas’ lead to two, and Jenkins made a layup over three Mavericks defenders to tie the game at 95 with 7:46 remaining and push the Pistons’ run to 27-9.
With 59 seconds left in the fourth, a pair of free throws from Jenkins extended the Pistons’ lead to 3, 109-106. He played 11 minutes and 32 seconds in the final period, second only to Cunningham, and overtime.
Ausar Thompson ejected in second quarter
The Pistons lost Thompson — their primary defender on Flagg — midway through the second period after an exchange with an official.
With 5:09 remaining before halftime, Thompson tied up Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard under the rim and was whistled for a foul. Thompson didn’t like the call and got in the ref’s face, and was instantly ejected. NBA rules make it an auto-ejection when a player makes physical contact with an official.
It was a strong start for Thompson prior to the ejection, as he had eight points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in nine minutes of play. Stewart entered for him in the second quarter.
In all, it was a rough night for the Pistons regarding the officials. Cunningham was whistled for a tech late in the second quarter after disagreeing with a call, and Bickerstaff was whistled for a tech during halftime after arguing with an official.
Duncan Robinson exits with left knee injury
With 11:08 to play in the third quarter, Robinson suffered a knee-to-knee collision with Mavericks wing Naji Marshall. Robinson limped off of the floor and was initially ruled “questionable” to return until he was downgraded to “out” in the final period.
Robinson finished with two points and two rebounds, shooting 1-for-7 overall and 0-for-5 from 3. He missed two games in early December with a right ankle sprain.
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Dallas, TX
Jonathan Bullard on what he brings to Dallas: ‘Smarts, toughness, physicality’
FRISCO, Texas — Plenty has been made of the Dallas Cowboys rebuilding their defense, and rightfully so. After all, this is a team that fielded the worst defense in the league, and in franchise history, in 2025, so cleaning house on that side of the ball felt inevitable — both within the coaching staff and the roster itself.
Adding to the latter is the signing of defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, the latest addition to Christian Parker’s defense ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. The 32-year-old has plenty of experience at the professional level, a former third-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2016, suiting up for what will be his seventh club when the 2026 season gets underway.
But, as Bullard tells it, this all feels very different, and in the best possible way.
“It’s a dream come true,” he told DallasCowboys.com. “When I grew up, my entire family was Cowboys fans. My grandma was a huge one — that’s where it started, obviously — but also my mom, everybody. To be here and to put the Star on my helmet just means a little more, knowing what she did for me, and I’m excited about it.”
And it’s not only his family, but also everyone else in Shelby, NC, where he was born and raised before leaving to become a First-team All-SEC lineman at the University of Florida.
“My whole city [is full of] Cowboys fans, too,” he said. “Just to go out there and put my stamp on this season.”
Bullard’s grandmother passed away in 2012, and he still carries her in his heart, and that means he feels added, although welcomed, pressure to show up big for the Cowboys, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Scheduled to meet with Parker this week, Bullard did reveal his role in Dallas will be as a “big end”, the exact position he’s played throughout his 10-year career for various teams that deployed a 3-4 scheme.
“I think the defense they’re trying to bring in is what I’ve done for the last 10 years,” Bullard explained. “To come in and be a big end, and be present on run downs, to make it tougher for teams to run the ball — for us to get the run defense going. To have the opportunity to come here, it just fit.”
As for what he plans to bring to the table for a defense that, last year, mostly brought cups and ice to the pot luck, Bullard didn’t mince words; nor did he stutter in explaining why the Cowboys wanted him, and why he wanted the Cowboys.
“The smarts of the game, understanding what we’re gonna get and being able to communicate down the line with the guys,” he said. “And the guys that are already here are vets, too, like Kenny Clark and those guys. I think, just us being able to communicate, as we get older and get that experience — the game slows down.
” … And I’m bringing the toughness and physicality, for sure.”
Bullard joins a defensive tackles room headlined by Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, with Jay Toia, a second-year talent, and Otito Ogbonnia in rotation — Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas both traded in March. It’s a complete overhaul at the position, and Bullard has the experience and ability help it get to a level its not experienced in decades.
Dallas, TX
Dallas delays release of City Hall emails, citing security and negotiations
Dallas, TX
Mark Cuban has one major regret after selling Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban says he has one big regret after cashing out of the Dallas Mavericks — and it’s not the sale itself.
“I don’t regret selling, I regret who I sold to. Yeah, yeah, I made a lot of mistakes in the process and I’ll leave it at that,” the billionaire entrepreneur said on an episode of the Intersections podcast published Tuesday.
He agreed in late 2023 to sell a controlling stake in the franchise to casino magnate Miriam Adelson and her family.
Cuban, who spent nearly 20 years as one of the “shark” investors on “Shark Tank,” said the grind of owning an NBA franchise ultimately pushed him toward the exit, describing it as an all-consuming emotional rollercoaster that wore him down over time.
“It’s a big emotional commitment, right? You hear the passion and everything — now imagine going up and down like that every single game. That’s hard,” he said.
The intensity of fan reactions — especially when the team struggled — made him wary of his children working in that environment and being subjected to what he described as abusive treatment, Cuban added.
But while the celeb money-man defended the decision to sell, he drew a line at how things unfolded after the deal — particularly a blockbuster trade involving franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić.
Cuban said he was blindsided when the Mavericks moved the star player, describing a chaotic late-night phone call that left him stunned.
“I got a text from a then-general manager and he said ‘Call.’ And I did and I thought he was asking me what I thought about a potential trade for Luka he was like, ‘No, Mark, it’s done,’” Cuban recounted.
“I was like, ‘What did we trade him for?’ And he told me — and no disrespect to Anthony Davis — but I’m like, ‘He’s hurt a lot.’”
The former owner said he immediately viewed the deal as a catastrophic mistake — one he had no power to stop.
“I called the new owner and he started telling me stuff that wasn’t true that he had been told as the reason why he approved it and I’m like, that’s not true — um, this is a mistake but nothing I can do,” Cuban said.
Cuban framed Dončić as a once-in-a-generation talent who should have been untouchable under any circumstances. he added.
Beyond basketball logic, Cuban suggested the decision was influenced by internal tensions and personal dynamics within the Mavericks organization.
Cuban also pointed to former general manager Nico Harrison as a key figure in the decision-making process, arguing that personal relationships may have skewed the front office’s judgment.
He noted Harrison had been close with Anthony Davis, the former Lakers star who went to the Mavs in the Dončić swap, since Davis was about 13 years old, while head coach Jason Kidd also previously coached him.
“You talk about confirmation bias, that there’s there was some of that, as well,” Cuban said, suggesting those ties contributed to the decision to trade away Dončić.
The comments highlight a growing rift between Cuban and the new ownership group led by Adelson, whose family acquired about 73% of the franchise in a deal valued at around $3.5 billion.
Cuban retained a minority stake but has increasingly signaled he no longer holds meaningful influence over basketball operations.
The Post has sought comment from Cuban and Adelson.
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