UPDATE: Luka Doncic got his wish, the NBA officially rescinded this technical.
That means Doncic can play on Sunday against the Spurs.
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Luka Doncic has a reputation for complaining to officials (even his own coach has called him out on it). Referee Tony Brothers has a reputation for a quick trigger with technical fouls.
Doncic and Brothers came together Friday night, and Doncic picked up a technical between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second for “continuously complaining” to the referees about a call. That’s Doncic’s 16th technical foul this season, triggering an automatic one-game suspension that would keep him out of Sunday’s season finale unless the league rescinds the technical.
Luka gets his 16th tech of the year 😅
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2022
He will be suspended for Mavs' season finale pic.twitter.com/0V9KndiOKo
Shockingly, Doncic didn’t like the non-call.
“I got a technical asking how is that not a foul ... that’s it,” said Doncic after the game, via the Associated Press. “If you ask me, I think 100 percent it should be rescinded because it wasn’t a tech. No warning, no nothing. I was just asking.”
Brothers spoke to a pool reporter after the game.
“He started to complain to each of the officials. When I was walking toward the table, he was 15 feet in the backcourt still complaining, so he got a technical for continuously complaining,” Brothers said.
Portland’s Elijah Hughes was up on Doncic when he took the shot, but officials rarely call a foul on end-of-quarter heaves. Was that a call worth arguing about?
With the easy win Friday night over the Blazers, the Mavericks secured at least the No. 4 seed in the West and will start the playoffs at home. Dallas could move into the No. 3 seed if Golden State loses one of its last two games (San Antonio and New Orleans) and the Mavericks beat the Spurs on Sunday.
The Mavericks likely need to get that win without Doncic, don’t bet on the league rescinding that technical.
