Mavericks Put Knight Monsters On Brink Of Elimination In Mountain Division Finals
The Tahoe Knight Monsters trailed 2-0 in the Mountain Division Finals against the Kansas City Mavericks heading into Thursday night. But Game 3 would be played at Tahoe Blue Event Center, and the Knight Monsters were hoping to use that advantage to get back in the series.
It was not to be, however. The Mavericks came away with a 3-1 victory, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Bear Hughes scored the game's first goal on a 5-on-3 advantage where he roofed the puck past Mavericks netminder Jack LaFontaine early in the opening frame for a 1-0 Tahoe lead.
The lead didn't last long. KC tied the game 1-1 late in the frame with a power-play goal of their own. Zack Trott buried a rebound at 19:53 of the frame, with David Cotton and Cam Morrison assisting
In the second, Kansas City took over, outshooting Tahoe 13-7 and scoring twice. Damien Giroux slammed home another rebound at 12:25, assisted by Jackson Berezowski and Cotton, to give the Mavericks their first lead at 2-1.
Four minutes later, Casey Carreau extended the lead to 3-1 with a high-slot shot past Tahoe goalie Jesper Vikman. Jake McLaughlin and Luke Loheit each earned an assist.
The Knight Monsters controlled the pace of play for most of the third period, but LaFontaine locked things down from there with a 12-save performance in the frame.
Vikman finished the contest with 26 saves on 29 shots seen, but it wasn't enough as the final buzzer sounded on a 3-1 loss.
The Knight Monsters will look to keep their season alive on Friday night for Game 4 of the series at the Tahoe Blue Event Center. Puck drop is set for 7 Pm PT.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Knicks Make Decision on Stealing Mavericks' Jason Kidd
Knicks Make Decision on Stealing Mavericks' Jason Kidd originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New York Knicks have decided whether or not they will try to poach Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. Advertisement When an active head coach is swiped from his current team, that transition is typically enacted via trade. The Boston Celtics, for instance, were compensated with draft equity when they let Doc Rivers depart for the L.A. Clippers in 2013. More recently, Kidd himself managed to get traded as a coach from the Brooklyn Nets to the Milwaukee Bucks, in exchange for two future second round draft picks, circa July 2014. Jason Kidd and Anthony Davis during a Dallas Mavericks Davis, Jason Kidd Spotted In Lakers Facility For Major Draft Event As a player, Kidd spent his 20th — and final — pro season with New York in 2012-13, averaging 12.6 points on .400/.349/.785 shooting splits, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals across 76 contests (48 starts). Advertisement Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the Knicks have asked the Mavericks for the green light to interview Kidd for their head coaching vacancy. Sources have informed Charania that Dallas shunned the request. Kidd seems to have evolved as a two-way head coach during his tenure with Dallas. During his five years guiding Brooklyn and then Milwaukee, Kidd made the playoffs in three of his four full seasons (he was fired by Milwaukee midway through 2017-18), winning just one series. He struggled to maximize his offenses, even on teams with Hall of Fame-level elite scorers like Paul Pierce and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Advertisement Things shifted after an assistant coaching stint on the Los Angeles Lakers under head coach Frank Vogel (now a Dallas consultant). Kidd won his first title as a coach in 2020, and signed with Dallas in 2021. He instantly improved the Mavericks' fortunes, leading the team to a 52-30 record and a surprise Western Conference Finals appearance. He also brought the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals. Last year, after Dallas shockingly traded five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic to the Lakers (plus big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris) in exchange for oft-hurt 10-time All-Stat center Anthony Davis, 3-and-D wing Max Christie, and one draft pick as part of a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz, Kidd did what he could to survive an imbalanced roster. Nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving played big minutes in Doncic's absence, ultimately tearing his ACL and killing Dallas' playoff aspirations. The Knicks, who fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after the franchise's first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years this spring, have also reached out to the Houston Rockets about stealing head coach Ime Udoka and the Minnesota Timberwolves about talking to head coach Chris Finch. Advertisement Their overtures have been rejected in both instances, Marc Stein of The Stein Line has reported. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mavericks reportedly deny Knicks' attempt to speak with Jason Kidd after team was denied on Ime Udoka and Chris Finch
Amid speculation that he may become the new head coach of the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks fully expect Jason Kidd will remain with the organization for the foreseeable future. The Mavericks have been privately insisting to key stakeholders that Kidd will not be leaving the franchise this offseason, according to The Athletic's Christian Clark and Sam Amick. Instead, Kidd is reportedly hoping to parlay the Knicks' interest in him into a new contract extension with the Mavericks. Advertisement Specifics of that deal, including what it will look like or when it will be finalized, are not yet known. The report comes amid speculation the Knicks — who fired coach Tom Thibodeau last week following their exit from the Eastern Conference finals — would try to make a play for Kidd. The organization had serious interest in hiring Kidd, per The Athletic, but were denied the opportunity to speak with the coach, NBA insider Marc Stein reported Wednesday. The Knicks also requested permission to speak with Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka for their open job, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. They were denied on those requests. Kidd has spent the past four seasons with the Mavericks. He's compiled a 179-149 record and led them to their first NBA Finals appearance last season since 2011, when the team still had star Luka Dončić on the roster. While Dončić has since been traded away, the Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery this spring and are now in position to select Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick later this month. Advertisement The Mavericks also struck a deal to hire longtime assistant Jay Triano on Tuesday. Triano, who was last on Mike Brown's staff in Sacramento, will join the team as a lead assistant. According to The Athletic, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison made it clear to Triano that Kidd would be the team's head coach next season when hiring him. The Knicks surprised the NBA world last week when they parted ways with Thibodeau, who led the team to the conference finals for the first time since 2000. He brought the team back to relevance, too, and made four postseason appearances in five years after a seven-year drought from the playoffs. There are several notable names who could replace Thibodeau in New York, though that coaching search is just getting started. New York is the only team in the league without a head coach.
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Kyrie Irving threatens haters over Karl-Anthony Towns shade
One New Jersey basketball star has another's back. Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving called for a cease of attacks on Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, specifically mentioning those chiding him for 'changing up his tone.' 'Y'all gotta stop making fun of my brother KAT. I'm done with y'all,' Irving said recently on Twitch. Advertisement 'Stop making fun of my brother KAT. It's over for that, it's a f—king wrap, I'm letting you know that if you repost that s–t again or meme him up, I'm attacking you. Not like that physically, GTA (popular video game franchise 'Grand Theft Auto'), but I'm attacking you.' 3 Kyrie Irving defended Towns on a recent Twitch stream. @NBA_NewYork/X Towns, born and raised in the Garden State, has been accused by some of code switching, which Brittanica describes as the 'process of shifting from one linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting.' Those on social media have posted interviews in which Towns' inflection may change during the segment. Advertisement While it's possible that Irving may have been referring to the vitriol directed at Towns after his inconsistent showing in the playoffs, the second half of Irving's plea to the fans focused on Towns' background. Towns' mother is Dominican, while his father is black. He was born in Edison, N.J., raised in Piscataway and attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. 3 Towns had some highs and lows during the postseason. Jason Szenes / New York Post Advertisement 'Y'all gotta leave KAT alone because y'all don't know what it's like to grow up in Jersey and have all of these cultures that you're a part of, trust me on that,' said Irving, who was raised in N.J. 'Jersey is literally 130 miles long, it's (a) very, very small state … but leave him alone. Because he's Dominican, he's black, he grew up in a certain area in Jersey, just like me, and you gotta survive out here. You got many different demographics of people, so you gotta survive out here. I don't agree all the time when he be changing up his tone sometimes, I don't always agree and all that s–t, that s–t be funny, but on a serious note, he is a man, he is my brother and I protect him all the time.' Towns has found himself under plenty of criticism since the Knicks' season ended in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to his uneven performance this postseason. While he certainly had some grand moments — Game 4 against the Pistons, Game 6 against the Celtics and Game 3 against the Pacers — he far too often disappeared. Advertisement In Game 6 against the Pacers, he posted a minus-17 rating. Indiana routinely targeted Towns and Jalen Brunson due to their defensive deficiencies. Some have wondered if the Knicks win a title with two defensive minuses in the starting lineup with Towns and Brunson, and whether that could lead to a possible trade. However, for all the nitpicking, Towns still earned third-team All-NBA honors and averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds during the regular season. 3 Kyrie Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns in action in 2023. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post Towns' fate is one of the Knicks' major decisions this offseason, with the first being who will replace coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau broke his silence on his firing Wednesday, while the search is already experiencing some turbulence.
