Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic hogged the headlines in his team’s clash with Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at the Paycom Center. It’s not because he dominated the game though, instead its because he got kicked out for trash talking one of the officials in the fourth quarter.
the ref ejected Doncic on a second technical foul
Doncic had just made an 11-foot pull-up jumper to put the Lakers up 108-107 in the hotly contested game before the incident. On the way back to his half he turned to say something in the direction of the official on the sideline. Whatever he said didn’t go down well, and the ref ejected Doncic on a second technical foul.
Doncic tried to protest, claiming that he was in fact addressing someone in the crowd, and alternate angles of the incident seem to confirm this. Whatever the case, many NBA fans on social media have claimed that the dismissal could be the result of foul play from an official trying to make a quick buck:
Popular gambling streamer Trainwreck weighed in on the debate. He said: “Refs are absolutely compromised. It’s obvious and f*cking gross.” The Texan content creator went on to label the ref’s call “completely unnecessary” and an action that “ruined the entire rest of the game.”
After Doncic’s ejection, Oklahoma outscored LA 29 to 12, sealing a 136-120 victory for the home team. In the previous matchup on Sunday, the Thunder suffered a blow out to the Lakers, losing by 27 points in a 126-99 result. Doncic led the scoring in that first game.
