The Denver Nuggets on Tuesday fired NBA championship-winning head coach Michael Malone in a shock move that comes just three games away from the start of the playoffs.
Malone led the Nuggets to the franchise’s first-ever NBA title in 2023, but despite the exploits of three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, Denver have struggled for consistency this season and are currently on a four-game losing streak.
They are fourth in a tight Western Conference race with four teams just a half-game behind them.
Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / USA Today
“It is with no pleasure that we announce that we have relieved Michael Malone of his head coaching duties, effective immediately,” Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement, adding that assistant coach David Adelman would assume head coaching duties for the remainder of the campaign.
The Nuggets have three games remaining in the regular season, which concludes on Sunday.
ESPN reported that the move matches the NBA record for the latest coaching change in a season.
Photo: AFP
“This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship, and delivering another title to Denver and our fans everywhere,” Kroenke said.
Since he was hired in 2015, Malone has amassed a 471-327 record with the Nuggets.
General manager Calvin Booth was also fired.
Malone’s stunning dismissal, and the likely unsettling effect it would have on the Denver locker room so close to the playoffs, is out of character for the Nuggets ownership group.
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment owns several sports teams in the US as well as English Premier League side Arsenal, and do not generally have a reputation as being particularly trigger-happy when it comes to the hiring and firing managers and head coaches.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 136-120 in a hard-fought battle in which Luka Doncic was controversially ejected in the fourth quarter.
Two days after suffering a 27-point defeat to the Lakers, the No.1-ranked Thunder avenged that loss thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 13th 40-point game of the season, with Jalen Williams adding 26 and Luguentz Dort 17.
The contest pivoted on the fourth quarter incident that led to the Lakers’ Slovenian star Doncic picking up a second technical foul and being tossed from the game.
Doncic was ejected following a one-handed jump shot that put the Lakers 108-107 up with 7 minutes, 40 seconds remaining after officiating crew member J.T. Orr judged he had been verbally abused by the player following the bucket.
Doncic protested, arguing he had been responding to a fan at courtside who had heckled him, but the decision stood and clearly rattled the Lakers, allowing the Thunder to seize the initiative and pull away for victory.
LeBron James, who finished with 28 points, was at a loss to explain Doncic’s ejection.
“I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal,” James told reporters. “The ref took it upon himself to think it was versus him. The game was just weird as hell after that.”
Doncic insisted he had not been trash-talking Orr.
“It was nothing to do with the ref, so I didn’t really understand it,” Doncic said. “It was tough, but you know that’s on me, too. I can’t let my team down like that.”
The Lakers remain in third place with a 48-31 record and need to win two of their remaining three regular-season fixtures to lock in third seeding in the Western Conference.
Elsewhere, the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the No. 1 seeding in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs after cruising past the Chicago Bulls 135-113, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a potentially costly 110-103 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Memphis Grizzlies boosted their chances of playoff qualification with a 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Phoenix Suns were eliminated from post-season contention after suffering a 133-95 blowout to the Golden State Warriors, while the Los Angeles Clippers climbed into the playoff positions with a 122-117 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Indiana Pacers defeated the Washington Wizards 104-98, the Orlando Magic outplayed the Atlanta Hawks 119-112, the Brooklyn Nets overpowered the New Orleans Pelicans 119-114 and the Boston Celtics survived the New York Knicks 119-117 in overtime.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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