The Mavericks fell to their third consecutive loss tonight as the Phoenix Suns comfortably beat them 132-109 despite trailing by 16 points in the second quarter. Luka Doncic had a fan thrown out during the game for talking trash, with the story being reported by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who covers the Mavericks for the network.
When MacMahon tried discussing the incident with Luka after the game, the Slovenian guard went off on the reporter and claimed that MacMahon was the first one to write negative reports about him.
“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.”
Luka going at MacMahon post game: “You’re the first one to put out something bad about me.”
He finally had enough and I can’t blame him. Mavs media has been terrible, including podcasters who push MacMahon’s agenda. Shame on them! pic.twitter.com/5IBsOBkfCY
— SLO HOOPS FAN 🇸🇮 (@SloHoopsFan) January 25, 2024
The pair continued arguing for over a minute over the circumstances around Luka getting the fan ejected, with Luka claiming the fan had kept insulting him throughout the first half. MacMahon admitted he heard the fan talking smack to Doncic the entire game, which prompted Luka to wonder why MacMahon tweeted out the final comment before the ejection.
“Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!”
Luka Doncic asked security to eject this Suns fan, who was sitting two rows behind midcourt press row. The comment the fan made that drew Doncic’s wrath: “Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!” pic.twitter.com/chNYwiJBC0
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 25, 2024
Luka claimed that he doesn’t want to get fans ejected because they pay good money to attend NBA games, with this being the first time he’s done so. MacMahon then asked Luka if he thinks he’s unfairly portrayed by the media which led to Doncic giving him a stoic no to end the interaction.
Luka put up 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists in the loss without Kyrie Irving.
Jason Kidd Went Off On The Same Reporter Earlier This Season
It seems Tim MacMahon has the reputation of being a negative reporter in the Mavericks locker room, as indicated by this exchange between him and head coach Jason Kidd earlier this season. After a win over the Rockets where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving excelled, Kidd imported MacMahon to write some ‘positive sh*t’ after an entire summer of negative reporting about the Mavericks duo.
“Write some positive sh*t. I’m giving you a f***ing answer. It’s okay to write positive stuff, people will read your positive sh*t. You don’t always have to be negative. Let’s see some positive stuff on positive people who are doing their jobs on a nightly basis. We’re only into this year, we can’t go back to last year. That’s the f***ing problem. Have a good night.”
This response echoed around the NBA, prompting LeBron James to react to the interaction, claiming that Kidd rarely curses and taking the Mavericks head coach’s side in this spat.
“For J to curse you know he wasn’t happy at all! I don’t think I ever heard him curse. I mean from competing vs him, teaming up with him, and playing for him. Never! He was HOT and quite frankly RIGHT!! Love J Kidd!”
Regardless of what happens between reporters and the Mavericks, it’s hard to write positive things about their one-sided loss to the Suns. They capitulated in the second half and had no response for a team they blew out on Christmas with Doncic starring in a 50-point outing.
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