The Dallas Mavericks registered their 10th victory of the season following a phenomenal game against the Los Angeles Clippers that went to OT. The star of the show for the Mavs was as usual their young European superstar Luka Doncic.
Doncic finished the game with a stat line of 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists as he was just shy of another career triple-double. While Doncic had a good game, there was a little moment in the game where Luka sort of lost his cool.
It was during the first quarter of the match and Luka finished a tough shot over the Clippers’ Terance Mann. After he knocked down the shot, Luka made a snide remark about Mann and labeled him too small. The referee didn’t let it slide as Doncic was handed a technical foul.
Luka got a tech after telling Terance Mann he's too small 👀 https://t.co/jMoJtP2c5o
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2021
Doncic is one of the most popular players in the league, so it was quite evident fans didn’t like this call. Upon seeing this video, many fans took their anger out in the comments section. Here are some of the best comments posted by NBA fans on the video:
luka never gonna win. westbrook of the mavs. ain’t make his team better
— karnige (@KarnigeThe) November 24, 2021
https://twitter.com/papyfaye1/status/1463437019380690945
soft league
— Jay (@RapzFan) November 24, 2021
Refs hate Luka
— Anthony Edwards Burner (@burner_edwards1) November 24, 2021
All Professional Sports are getting soft……I'm getting irritated with how sensitive sports are being made, the athletes are being made into Robot, jump shoot, turn around and run back, or score a Touchdown and then hand the ball back, hit Homerun and drop the bat!!!🤬🤬🤬
— Train-Op BSL (@2_shoty) November 24, 2021
https://twitter.com/__Colby__/status/1463361827690135552
We'd scream "Hit the weight room!" when we'd body someone like that haha. A lil trash talking never hurt anyone. Mann will be aite.
— Mayo (@YDKI007) November 24, 2021
NBA missing Larry Birds trash talking
— Darrell Harris (@darrell1118) November 24, 2021
https://twitter.com/stupidassbot/status/1463361735990128644
Haha how can trash talking be a tech Jordan would have been ejected if the league was this soft 30 years ago
— Dale Carson (@anzacwarrior08) November 24, 2021
These two do have a history with each other:pic.twitter.com/CnEMhTtSmn
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) November 24, 2021
Ugh soft league…. Only getting worse
— aj2412 (@aj24124) November 24, 2021
Many fans were frustrated with this soft call. While it is the refs’ responsibility to keep the game flowing better and nothing is blown out of proportion, this was not one such case. Instead, it was just a simple trash talk, which to be honest, fans love to see.
At this pace, the league is not heading towards a good place. Despite the cheap call, Luka and the Mavericks had a phenomenal outing in this fixture.
Following this sensational win, the Mavericks are currently in the fourth position in the Western Conference. With Luka Doncic now back in the lineup, the organization will hope to build upon this victory and win some consecutive games.
Next up the Mavericks are going to face off against the Washington Wizards, which is anticipated to be a great game. Both teams are currently holding the fourth seed in their respective conferences. Moreover, the battle between Luka Doncic and Bradley Beal will certainly attract a lot of attention from fans all around the globe.