Bucks' Late Win vs Mavericks Inspires Dallas to Fire GM Nico Harrison

The Milwaukee Bucks helped prompt a seismic shift for the Dallas Mavericks' front office this week.

On Sunday night, Milwaukee ran out of steam late against the Houston Rockets, falling 122-115 thanks to a 22-8 closeout Rockets run. Both Doc Rivers and nine-time All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo called out the team for losing their grip in the final frame.

But on Monday, despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back slate, the Bucks managed to hold on against a far worse Texas team, besting Dallas 116-114 to send the spiraling Mavericks to a 3-8 record. Milwaukee, meanwhile, improved to a 7-4 record for the early season and have notched the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seed.

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Antetokounmpo continued his MVP-level play, scoring 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out six dimes, blocking three shots and swiping a steal. Off the bench, reserve forward Kyle Kuzma chipped in 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, pulled down five boards, passing for two assists, and notching one steal.

Dallas, minus injured All-Stars Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and starting center Dereck Lively II, leaned heavily on rookie forward Cooper Flagg. Head coach Jason Kidd, who also employed this approach with Antetokounmpo during his tenure as the Bucks' head coach, kicked off the season playing Flagg out of position as his 6-foot-10 starting point guard.

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Now, Flagg has been shifted back to a starting forward role, although he's still being leaned on to initiate a lot of the Mavericks' offense. The 18-year-old led Mavericks with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 shooting from the foul line and four assists. Fourth-year pro Brandon Williams has taken over as the team's starting point guard.

The Bucks had been trailing by as much as 13 points in the fourth frame, but a 15-point run in the quarter from Antetokounmpo helped propel Milwaukee's comeback victory. The Mavericks were outscored 37-26 in the period.

Milwaukee Put the Final Nail in the Coffin for the Nico Harrison Era

The next day, Dallas revealed in a press statement that it had fired general manager Nico Harrison and swapped in Dallas executives Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi to work as the club's co-interim general managers.

The Dallas Mavericks announced the departure of Nico Harrison today.

Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will serve as co-interim general managers.

Full Release: https://t.co/mjOCxSs7K9
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) November 11, 2025

At the Bucks-Mavericks clash, fans were berating Harrison throughout American Airlines Arena. He pulled off one of the dumbest trades (perhaps the dumbest?) in the history of the NBA last season, offloading a package led by five-time All-NBA First Team superstar Luka Doncic — fresh off leaving the Mavericks to the NBA Finals just the year before — to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for aging 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis (six year's Doncic's senior), wing Max Christie, and a single first-round draft pick.

Antetokounmpo enjoyed the fans' derision.

Giannis was smirking while the Mavericks fans chanted “FIRE NICO” 😭

(h/t @OmerOsman200) pic.twitter.com/L6r7I2QvV6
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) November 11, 2025

Prior to the game, Rivers clowned the Doncic trade to reporters, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

“I thought it was AI," Rivers said of his reaction about first hearing about the deal. "I’m just being honest.”

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