DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki played his 21st and final NBA season in 2018-19, marking Luka Doncic’s rookie campaign. Doncic’s progression since then has involved going from rookie to earning four All-NBA First-Team nods while being firmly positioned for a fifth.

“My last year was his first season,” Nowitzki said of Doncic via Mavs.com. “I mean, what a talent, what a player.”

In a rare moment of candor during ESPN’s live broadcast, former NBA center Kendrick Perkins criticized Miami Heat fans for their poor turnout at Friday’s pivotal play-in game against the Chicago Bulls. The game, crucial for the Heat’s postseason hopes, saw too many empty seats at the Kaseya Center-a sight that did not sit well with Perkins.

“It’s a close game, it’s win or go home,” Perkins remarked, clearly frustrated by the lack of fan presence. “I’m just a little disappointed in the fanbase of the Miami Heat. There are too many open seats.”

Echoing Perkins’ sentiment, fellow ESPN commentator Mike Wilbon labeled the Heat fans as “frontrunners,” questioning their loyalty and support during critical moments. “That’s not a great fanbase at all. It hasn’t been. They’re frontrunners. They’re frontrunners,” Wilbon added.

Miami Heat triumph despite Butler’s absence

Despite the absence of star player Jimmy Butler, who suffered a knee injury earlier in the week, the Heat managed a commanding 112-91 victory over the Bulls. Butler, sidelined after an incident involving Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Philadelphia 76ers, had played through pain and contributed significantly in previous games but was ruled out after an MRI revealed an MCL injury.

Stepping up in Butler’s absence, Tyler Herro nearly secured a triple-double, amassing 24 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in 33 minutes. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. also made a notable impact, scoring 21 points along with six rebounds and six assists. Veteran Kevin Love contributed 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, helping to secure the win.

The Bulls, despite efforts from their key players like DeMar DeRozan who scored 22 points, could not match the Heat’s intensity. Starters Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu, along with bench player Javonte Green, put up respectable numbers, but it wasn’t enough.

With this win, Miami clinched the final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and is set to face the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics in the first round. Last season, the Heat made an impressive run from the play-in games to the NBA Finals, and fans hope for a repeat performance this year-hopefully, with more robust support in the stands.

ATLANTA – Metro Atlanta’s Haitian community is watching in horror as gang violence continues to consume the nation. More than 1,500 people have been killed, and hundreds injured in some of the worst fighting in decades.

Heavily armed gangs persist in their assault, paralyzing Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They have torched police stations, seized control of the city’s international airports and seaports, and disrupted supply chains of food and humanitarian aid, plunging the nation into chaos.

“It’s a desperate situation,” said Louis Wilkenson, CEO of the nonprofit Give to Haiti. Wilkenson, a resident of Lawrenceville, was born in Haiti. His brother, niece, and nephew live just outside Port-au-Prince. He hasn’t heard from them in three months. “He has children; I don’t know where they are; they are nowhere to be found.”

Wilkenson worries constantly. When asked about the danger his family faces, Wilkenson said, “death, dead.”

More than 1,500 people were killed, and over 820 injured from January to March, according to the UN. Nearly 95,000 people have been forced to flee the capital in just one month. “Those who I know who have been fighting for life, what they’re going through has been very, very scary,” Wilkenson said.

“It’s pretty scary,” said Emmanuel Buteau, the executive director of the Haitian Institute of Atlanta and an assistant professor of theology at Xavier University in Louisiana.

“It’s one of the hardest things for me since I’ve been living in the US to turn on the TV, to turn on the radio, go online and see what’s happening at home,” Buteau said.

Buteau’s family was forced to leave their home outside the capital when they saw something terrifying. “They actually found a bullet on the front steps of the house. That’s when they realized the gunshots were reaching closer, closer, closer to us,” Buteau said.

Both men call on Haiti’s international partners to do more to end the violence and help forge a peaceful, just, and lasting democracy.

“We need to find a way together to truly chart a new future,” said Buteau. “Because otherwise, thousands and millions of people will die unnecessarily,” Wilkenson said.

Both men are raising money to send to people in Haiti through haitianinstitute.org an givebacktohaiti.com.