The NBA is giving Luka Doncic a break after the Los Angeles Lakers star was assessed a second technical foul and ejected from Tuesday night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thuder.
Doncic scored 23 points before his ejection with 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. He said he was talking trash back and forth with a fan, but the officials disagreed.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 29-12 the rest of the way to win.
“I mean, it was tough,” Doncic said after the game. “I mean, we were right there. I think we fought the whole game. … We came back in the third quarter. We were fighting, man. So it was tough to see that with this kind of situation to happen. And you know, that’s on me too, so I can’t let my team down like that.”
Doncic is averaging 27.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 26 since the shocking mid-season trade that sent him to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks.
With the drama of the technical behind him, Doncic can focus on his first return to Dallas which can be seen Wednesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, with live coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
The Lakers enter the contest with a 48-31 record, holding the third spot in the Western Conference standings. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are looking to lock up a spot in the West play-in, as they currently sit three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for 10th place.
— With files from the Associated Press
