Luka Doncic was ejected during the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at Paycom Center after picking up his second technical foul.
The Lakers were leading 108-107 with 7:40 remaining when Doncic appeared to respond to a fan courtside.
Doncic picked up his first technical foul with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
‘It was a weird couple of minutes after that, starting with the ejection,’ Lakers star LeBron James told reporters. ‘I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal. He had already given Luka one (technical) and Luka knew that.
‘Luka was going back and forth at that time with a fan sitting courtside. … The ref took it upon himself to think that it was vs. him, whatever the case may be.’
Doncic now has 14 technical fouls on the season, putting him two away from receiving a one-game suspension.
Crew chief Tony Brothers told pool reporter Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press that Doncic received his first technical foul after the Lakers guard ‘directed profanity at a game official.’
For the second technical, Doncic ‘looked directly at an official and used vulgar language.’
Whether Doncic was speaking to the official or not, he has quite the history with Thunder fans, going back to last season’s Western Conference semifinals, when he led the Mavericks to a 4-2 series win against OKC.
‘I love it,’ Doncic said last year of playing in OKC. ‘When they chant, ‘Luka sucks,’ it gets me going.’
OKC (65-14) will close out the regular season with a three-game road trip, starting Wednesday night at Phoenix.
Los Angeles (48-31) will visit the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, marking Doncic’s first trip back to American Airlines Center since February’s shocking Lakers-Mavericks trade.
Luka Doncic stats for Lakers vs Thunder
Points: 23
FG shooting: 7-fot-15
3-point shooting: 3-for-7
FT shooting: 6-for-7
Assists: 5
Rebounds: 3
Blocks: 1
Turnovers: 3
Minutes: 31