OKLAHOMA CITY — Luka Dončić insists he was talking trash to a fan. A referee thought otherwise. The end result? A 136-120 Oklahoma City victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night that saw L.A.’s hold on the No. 3 playoff seed in the West shrink to one game.
The incident occurred at the 7:40 mark of the fourth quarter. Dončić had just made an 11-foot jumper to give L.A. a 108-107 lead. He then turned and said something to someone — he says it was a fan, but referee JT Orr was in the area — and Orr immediately issued the technical while Dončić and his teammates pleaded their case.
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Since it was Dončić’s second technical of the game, he was ejected. The NBA would rescind the call Wednesday afternoon following a review, but that didn’t change the game’s result. Oklahoma City outscored the Lakers 28-13 the rest of the way.
Dončić, who has been known to engage with fans during games, insisted that he was not directing his comments at Orr.
“I never got a fan ejected, never, but if you’re gonna talk, I’m gonna talk back like always,” he said. “That had nothing to do with the ref.”
Luka Doncic on his ejection: pic.twitter.com/Wn5VTSszhE
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 9, 2025
The referees had a different view of what went down. Crew Chief Tony Brothers told a pool reporter that Dončić drew his second technical because he “looked directly at an official and used vulgar language.”
The first technical foul was also assessed for directing profanity at an official, Brothers said. Both technicals were called by Orr.
Meanwhile, Lakers star LeBron James shook his head when asked about the play.
“It was a weird couple minutes after that — starting with the ejection,” he said. “I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal. … Just weird as hell after that moment.”
LeBron James on Luka Doncic’s ejection in the fourth quarter: “It was a weird couple minutes after that — starting with the ejection. I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal. … Just weird as hell after that moment.” pic.twitter.com/SslQtqEQbD
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 9, 2025
The loss dropped the Lakers to 48-31, only one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the West. They have three regular-season games remaining, including a Wednesday contest that will bring Dončić back to Dallas.
“It was tough,” Dončić said. “We were right there. We fought the whole game, we were down eight at halftime and we came back in the third quarter. We were fighting, man, so it was tough to see this kind of situation happen.”
(Photo: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
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