Luka Dončić was ejected Tuesday late from a tight game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
A quick whistle for his second technical foul was the culprit. It was the result of his comment to a fan in the Oklahoma City stands that referee J.T. Orr thought was directed at him, according to Dončić and the spectator at the center of the controversy.
Advertisement
The Lakers led 109-108 at the time of Dončić’s ejection. They melted down from there. The Thunder finished the game on a 28-11 run to secure a 136-120 win and deliver a blow to the Lakers in their fight for higher seeding in a tightly packed Western Conference playoff race.
Dončić’s ejection
Dončić scored a contested layup in the fourth quarter that gave the Lakers a 108-107 lead. When he ran back on defense, he said something to a fan in a sideline seat. Orr, who was standing nearby, appeared at the time to have thought that Dončić’s words were directed toward him.
And Dončić’s night was done.
Orr whistled Dončić for a technical foul. The technical was Dončić’s second of the game, and he was ejected.
Advertisement
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the technical free throw to tie the game at 108-108. He hit another after Jarred Vanderbilt was whistled for a technical 13 seconds later. Austin Reaves hit a pair of free throws to retake the lead for Los Angeles. But Alex Caruso responded with a 3-pointer for a 112-110 lead, and it was all Thunder from there.
Luka Dončić was ejected for a comment to a fan in the Oklahoma City stands. Referee J.T. Orr thought that Dončić was talking to him. (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
What did Luka say and who did he say it to?
The fan, Jeremy Price, told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he was engaged in a back-and-forth with Dončić when Dončić delivered his fateful expletive. McMenamin shared Price’s response on social media.
“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 [sic] back and J.T. happened to see it and that point, T’d him up.”
Price didn’t clarify exactly what choice word got Dončić tossed.
Advertisement
Price then told McMenamin that Orr “possibly” thought that Dončić’s comment was aimed at him.
Orr did not speak with media after the game. Crew chief Tony Brothers did. He confirmed that Dončić was ejected for what was perceived to be profanity directed at Orr.
Brothers told the pool reporter that Dončić drew his first technical for profanity directed at a game official. As for the second?
“He looked directly at an official and used vulgar language,” Brothers said.
Luka’s explanation
Dončić offered his side of the story during a postgame news conference. It lines up with Price’s.
“You can see it, it happened,” Dončić said. “I never got a fan ejected, never. But if you’re gonna talk, I’m gonna talk back like always. That had nothing to do with the refs.”
Blow to Lakers in seeding race
The game came with high stakes for a Lakers team fighting to secure a top-4 seed in the Western Conference. The loss dropped the Lakers to 48-31. They maintained their spot in third place in the West, but saw their lead shrink to a single game over the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies, who are in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Advertisement
The loss left them 1.5 games ahead of seventh place in the West, which comes with a spot in the play-in instead of a guaranteed playoff berth. The Lakers have three games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
The Thunder already had the No. 1 seed in the West locked up.
Dončić’s ejection shifted tone of game
Before Dončić’s ejection, the game was shaping up to be a thriller.
The teams played one of the most electric quarters of the NBA season in the first as both teams caught fire from 3. Oklahoma City shot 7 of 11 from deep, and Los Angeles shot 9 of 13. They went into the second quarter tied at 43-43.
Advertisement
There, the Thunder went on a 10-0 run for a 62-52 lead that stood at eight at halftime. The Lakers answered with a 16-6 run to start the third quarter and took an 88-86 lead on a deep pull-up 3 from Dončić.
The Lakers took a 98-97 lead into the fourth quarter, where the Thunder immediately jumped back on top with an Aaron Wiggins 3.
From there, there were four lead changes and a tie before Dončić’s ejection with 7:40 remaining. Then, the Thunder took over.
Dončić had 23 points, five assists and three rebounds at the time of his ejection. LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the losing effort. Reaves added 24 points while shooting 4 of 7 from 3. The Lakers shot 18 of 40 (45%) from 3 as a team.
Advertisement
But it didn’t matter as Oklahoma City was better from 3 for the night and the dominant team down the stretch once the Lakers lost their star point guard and their composure.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 42 points with six rebounds and six assists while shooting 14 of 26 from the field, 5 of 9 from 3 and 9 off 11 from the free-throw line. Jalen Williams added 26 points as one of five Thunder players to score in double figures. The Thunder shot 50% from the field and 48.6% (18 of 37 from 3).
And the Lakers leave Oklahoma City for what promises to be another drama-filled night Wednesday in Dončić’s return to Dallas to face the Mavericks.