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After swishing in a pull-up jumper, Luka Doncic's banter with a courtside fan became the altering point of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 136-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He received his second technical foul and was immediately ejected.
The Lakers held a 108-107 lead with under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter when Doncic was ejected. After that, the Thunder went on a 13-4 run over the next three minutes to put this one away. Los Angeles missed its superstars as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put the finishing touches.
With such a chaotic finish, a pool report was necessary. Crew Chief Tony Brothers explained why Doncic received both technical fouls and Jarred Vanderbilt's technical foul when he hit Jalen Williams above the neck on a foul.
Doncic was given his first technical foul at the 4:02 mark of the third quarter. Brothers said it was because of words against a referee JT Orr.
"He directed profanity at a game official," Brothers said.
Brothers also said Doncic used profanity directed toward the referee. He was asked whether or not they thought it was at the referee or a fan.
"He looked directly at an official and used vulgar language," Brothers said.
Finally, Brothers explained Vanderbilt's technical foul. After the game, several Lakers players circled the referees for further protests on calls and non-calls despite the game being over.
"He was called for a technical foul for stepping towards and verbally taunting a player while the ball was dead," Brothers said.
Facing the Lakers always bring some extra juice. Half the arena cheers for them and being a title contender only adds to that. Throw in the usual theatrics involved with Doncic and LeBron James, it shouldn't be surprising to see such a controversial finish.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: NBA referee explains Luka Doncic's ejection in Thunder win over Lakers
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