Luka Doncic will serve one-game suspension for techs on Monday
The NBA gave Luka Doncic a mulligan. The league wouldn’t give the Lakers superstar a second.
Doncic will serve a one-game suspension due to an accumulation of technical fouls, the NBA announced Saturday, sidelining him for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards after committing his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
Doncic said he was trying to get away from Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams when he pushed the Nets away with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Doncic had just been warned for an offensive foul as the Lakers tried to get the ball in. Williams was yelling at Doncic. Doncic attempted to pass Williams and the 24-year-old from Lancaster then waved his arm behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat. Both received technical fouls.
Doncic said the referees told him his push was “over the top.”
“Which was obviously [not the case]said Doncic, who scored 41 points with eight rebounds and three assists in the victory.
It’s the second time in a week that Doncic has faced a mandatory suspension after committing his 16th technical foul, but he avoided the fate after the NBA overturned a technical foul he committed against Orlando on March 21. That reversal allowed Doncic to remain available for the Lakers’ game against Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on March 23, in which Doncic scored 32 points but missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer in a tense 113-110 Lakers loss. ended a nine-fight winning streak.
Monday’s game probably won’t have the same drama.
The Wizards (17-56) have lost 17 of their last 18 games. The lone win came against the Utah Jazz, another team trying to position themselves for the lottery more than the playoffs. Washington will be without Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger), the team’s two major midseason acquisitions.
With another deep team arriving at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and the Lakers could actually benefit from resting the superstar. He played through a sore left hamstring on Friday, and the Lakers (48-26) host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday in the playoffs. The days between Friday’s win and Monday’s game will be the Lakers’ first two-day break since the All-Star Game.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, entered the most valuable conversation among players as he helped the Lakers reach third place in the Western Conference. He scored 30 or more points in 12 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career.
The Lakers have won 15 of their last 20 games with Doncic averaging 35.5 points per game during that span. With 102 steals on the season, including three against the Nets, Doncic also became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 to average 30 or more points per game with 100 or more steals overall.
The Lakers also could be without guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last three games with a right ankle contusion. He also suffered a hip injury in another fall against Orlando, but is showing progress and staying day-to-day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday.
