Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic is ejected after getting a second technical foul against the Oklahoma City Thunder
Luka Doncic was, rather unceremoniously, ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after hitting a tough basket and talking trash to a Thunder fan in the stands.
Referee J.T. Orr took exception to whatever Doncic said, potentially under the impression that the Los Angeles Lakers star was berating him instead of the fan behind him, and issued Doncic his second technical foul of the game.
After the game, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin caught up with the Oklahoma City fan who Doncic was going back and forth with in order to ask him how the scene played out. The fan, Jeremy Price, explained what truly went down.
“During the game within the game, I mentioned that he was short and he missed it and he turned around and he shot an explicative back and J.T. [Orr] happened to see it and that point, T’d him up,” said Price.
When asked if he thought Orr believed Doncic was talking to him at the time of the second technical foul, Price said, “That could possibly be. And that’s probably why he picked up that technical, to be quite honest.”
The moment occurred midway through the fourth quarter. Doncic’s two-point basket made it a 108–107 game in favor of the Lakers, but they weren’t able to hold onto their lead after his ejection and went on to lose 136–120. Doncic finished with 23 points, five assists and three rebounds across 31 minutes.
Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.
