In the third quarter of the contest between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, Luka Doncic asked for a Suns fan to be ejected for constantly heckling him. On his appearance on Inside the NBA on Thursday, Doncic admitted he shouldn’t have done it.
“I mean it was the whole game a little bit, but I was really frustrated,” Doncic said. “We were losing, I twisted my ankle in the first half. It was just a lot of emotions, but yeah, probably shouldn’t have done that. So, when I’m wrong I admit it, so probably shouldn’t have done that but it was just the whole game going on.”
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The fan had reportedly been going at Doncic the whole game but the straw that broke the camel’s back was his yelling, “Luka, you’re tired! Get your a** on the treadmill!” With Doncic’s ankle hurting and with the Suns taking over the contest in the third quarter, the Slovenian’s frustrations just boiled over, and he asked for the individual to be kicked out.
Doncic regrets doing it now, but when you consider the circumstances, you get why he went to those lengths. The 24-year-old is only human at the end of the day, and many of us in his position would have probably ended up doing the same.
As for the game itself, Doncic had 34 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, but the Mavericks were blown out 132-109. It was their third straight defeat and they’ve now dropped to 24-20.
Luka Doncic Had A Heated Exchange With A Reporter Postgame
Doncic was quite frustrated after the game as well for how that incident had been reported. Tim MacMahon was the one who had revealed what the fan had said and Doncic blasted the ESPN reporter.
“You’re the first one to put out something bad about me. I just find it funny, you’re always the first to put bad stuff about me.”
Doncic asked MacMahon if he hadn’t heard the fan heckling him for the whole game. The reporter’s post on X about the incident made no mention of that and gave the impression that Doncic asked for the fan to be kicked out just based on that one line.
When MacMahon asked why he hadn’t asked for the fan to be ejected earlier, Doncic said it’s not something he ever wants to do because they paid for tickets, but he had enough of the heckling at that point. MacMahon doesn’t appear to be a very popular figure among Mavericks players, and this incident only made matters worse.
Luka Doncic Has Been Announced As A Starter For The 2024 All-Star Game
Doncic appeared on Inside the NBA here, as he has been voted as a starter for the 2024 All-Star Game. He is having an exceptional 2023-24 season, with averages of 33.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game.
It is the fifth consecutive year that Doncic has made the All-Star team and the fourth time that he has been named a starter. He has now joined LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Isiah Thomas, and Anthony Davis as the only players to have made the All-Star team five times before turning 25.
He also now has the second-most All-Star selections in Mavericks history, with only Dirk Nowitzki (14) ahead of him. Provided he stays with the team and plays long enough, Doncic will end up surpassing Dirk as well.
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