Luca Dončić was summarily ejected from Tuesday night's intense Lakers-Thunder showdown, following an intriguing and unexpected courtside exchange with a spectator. With just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, referee JT Orr handed Dončić his second technical foul of the evening, stemming from a heated verbal altercation with a courtside fan. Orr, seemingly incensed, argued that the Lakers superstar had directed vulgar remarks towards him.
Post-game, crew chief Tony Brothers echoed Orr's sentiment, asserting that Dončić had "gazed directly at an official while employing vulgar language." However, during the fraught moment, Dončić appeared utterly perplexed by the decision that led to his ejection. Cameras captured him in animated discussion with the referee, while teammate LeBron James looked on with concern.
Prior to Dončić's forced exit, the Lakers held a slim 108–107 lead. But once he was removed from the equation, they swiftly succumbed, ultimately losing the contest 136–120.
"I've never had a fan ejected, ever," Dončić told reporters afterwards, "but if you engage, I'll respond, as is my nature. This had absolutely nothing to do with the referee."
James, sharing his commuteiserations, recounted, "It was an odd sequence of events after the ejection. I'm unsure why the referee took it personally. He had already issued Luka one technical, and Luka was aware of it. At that moment, Luka was engaged in a back-and-forth with a courtside fan...The referee perceived it personally, for whatever reason."
Dončić's first technical foul of the night, also attributed to directing vulgar language towards a game official, occurred in the third quarter. With 14 technical fouls now under his belt this season, he stands perilously close to incurring a mandatory one-game suspension, just two more away.
