Luka Doncic got the boot from an important Lakers game Tuesday night … because an official with a quick whistle couldn’t delineate fan trash talk from referee chirping. The bizarre scene all unfolded in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s road tilt with…
Luka Doncic got the boot from an important Lakers game Tuesday night … because an official with a quick whistle couldn’t delineate fan trash talk from referee chirping. The bizarre scene all unfolded in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s road tilt with…
Luka Doncic got the boot from an important Lakers game Tuesday night … because an official with a quick whistle couldn’t delineate fan trash talk from referee chirping.
The bizarre scene all unfolded in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s road tilt with Oklahoma City … after Doncic hit a floater in the lane to give his team a 108-107 lead.
After making the basket, the 26-year-old turned toward the crowd and began mouthing off — but a ref thought the chatter was aimed at him … and Doncic — who had been hit with a technical foul just a few minutes earlier for arguing a call — was immediately ejected.
Players on the floor tried to explain the situation to the ref … but the official wasn’t having it, and Doncic was relegated to the showers. L.A. went on to get blown out, 136-120 — and afterward, nearly everyone in the Purple and Gold was perplexed by the situation.
LeBron James appeared to chastise the ref for “taking it personal.” JJ Redick looked exhausted about the matter during his postgame media availability too.
As for Doncic, he was adamant the on-court talk “had nothing to do with the ref,” and he “didn’t really understand” the situation.
The loss was a tough one for the Lake Show — as a win would’ve given L.A. two straight victories over the Western Conference’s best team. Nonetheless, the Lakers won’t have much time to sulk over things … they play the Mavericks on Wednesday in Dallas for the first time since Luka was traded from Big D.