Mavericks’ Luka Doncic drew the ire of a growing divisive controversy in a recent game. He got ejected after getting two technical fouls. The Dallas Mavericks star’s fiery, profanity-laced confrontation with courtside super-fan Jeremy Price—better known as “The Courtside Tattoo Guy”—has made waves around the NBA. This conflict was with Price—not the game referee, J.T. Orr. The incident unfolded during a crucial matchup for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with playoff implications hanging in the balance.
The fight was sparked when Doncic began yelling expletives towards Orr early in the third quarter. This particular flare-up earned him his very first technical foul. As the game got testy down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Doncic barked at Price, causing the referee to intervene once more. Orr went on to call for a second technical foul, which led to Doncic’s ejection from the game. At the time of the incident, the Lakers were sitting atop the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They would have to win two of their final three games to get into the playoffs.
After Doncic departed the game, the Lakers completely lost their cool. This opened the door for the Thunder to let loose a hellacious 29-12 run that would sink the Lakers.
“It was a great game that unfortunately didn’t get to finish out the way that I think every basketball fan would want because of some decision-making on some individuals’ parts,” said ESPN analyst JJ Redick, reflecting on how the game’s outcome changed dramatically after Doncic’s exit.
Doncic then explained that his exchange was just with Price, and not with Orr. Never. If you [the fan] are going to speak, I’m going to speak back, like I always do. That had little to do with the officiating. So, I never truly grasped,” he said in response to his exchange with Price.
Price backed up Doncic’s view, saying of the incident, “That’s probably the reason that he picked up that technical, to be quite honest. He added that Orr “maybe” misunderstood the context of who Doncic was talking to there.
Even LeBron James, one of the Lakers stars, described the intensity of the atmosphere in game. It was every bit as hotly contested as a playoff game. As he put it, “Both teams understood that this was going to be a playoff-type atmosphere…and it just got weird.”
In the locker room after the game, Jarred Vanderbilt offered his perspective on the bizarre and scary incident. He thought I was the one who got fouled, and you know what, he’s right—I did get bitch slapped across the noggin,” he asked. Further, he shared his opinion that the officiating felt personal against Doncic. The referee turned to Luka and said, “I’ll meet with everyone except you.” That made it seem a little personal.
The ramifications of Doncic’s ejection go beyond this one contest. His homecoming to Dallas is perhaps the biggest news. He was included in the Russell Westbrook trade the Lakers made with the Utah Jazz earlier this season. Now Doncic is anticipating his return with a lot of excitement, but he understands that it’s going to be an emotional day. He confessed, “I don’t know what to expect or how I’m going to feel, to be honest.”
With just a handful of games left in the regular season stretch, Austin Reaves said securing wins are all he’s focused on. We need two of three to secure the third place,” he said of their strategy in the playoffs.
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