Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The NBA said Wednesday it has rescinded the technical foul that led to the ejection of Luka Doncic during the Los Angeles Lakers’ defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “Luka Doncic’s technical foul at 7:40 of the 4th quarter on 4/8/25 has been rescinded upon league office review,” the league announced on Twitter.
Doncic and the Lakers were stunned after the Slovenian star was tossed at a critical point of the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s 136-120 defeat by the Thunder. Officiating crew member J.T. Orr tossed Doncic after believing the Lakers ace had hurled verbal abuse in his direction just after scoring a jump shot that gave the Lakers a 108-107 lead. Doncic reacted in disbelief, later stating he had been trash-talking a heckler amongst the crowd who was sitting at courtside.
The incident proved pivotal in what had been a close game, with the Thunder exploiting the absence of Doncic to outscore the Lakers 29-12 over the remainder of the game to seal victory. “It was nothing to do with the ref, so I didn’t really understand it,” Doncic said after the game, while taking responsibility for the incident. “It was tough, but you know that’s on me too. I can’t let my team down like that.”
Doncic’s teammate LeBron James was also bemused by the ejection. “I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal,” James said Tuesday. “The ref took it upon himself to think it was versus him. The game was just weird as hell after that.”
© 2024 AFP
