Luka Doncic Has Fan Removed, Spars With Refs As Suns Crush Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was visibly frustrated Wednesday night after a Phoenix Suns fan repeatedly heckled him from the stands. Doncic complained throughout the game and eventually asked Mavericks vice president of security Brian Kinzig to have the fan removed. The Suns defeated the Mavericks 132-109 on the road.

Though the full extent of the Suns fan’s comments toward Doncic is unknown, he reportedly yelled that Doncic looked tired and should go back to the gym. The Mavericks point guard claims that the heckling was incessant until the fan was escorted out of the stands without incident during the second half.

“He was cursing me the whole first half, too,” Doncic said after the game. When asked why he didn’t ask for the fan to be ejected sooner, he replied, “Because I never would eject a fan. They paid for tickets, but I had enough. It’s a little bit of frustration.”

Doncic, who scored 34 points with eight rebounds and nine assists Wednesday, apparently took out his frustration on referees as well. In the second quarter, he received his eighth technical foul of the season for yelling at officials. In a post-game interview with a pool reporter, crew chief David Guthrie was dismissive of Doncic’s grievances.

“He had complained multiple times and was asked to stop prior to that,” Guthrie said. “He did not stop but continued his complaining, and again as he was leaving the floor at halftime he yelled and complained at the officials again.”

With a 24-20 record, the Mavericks are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference. Doncic and Kyrie Irving have worked well enough to get the team into playoff contention, but rivals like Phoenix continue to limit the team.

Dallas earned a 16-point lead early in the second half Wednesday but saw it melt away as the Suns dominated the rest of the game. Suns point guard Devin Booker, whose jersey was being worn by the heckling fan, scored 46 points in the contest. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said that his players have been distracted by referees and other factors in recent games and singled out Doncic in talks with reporters.

“We’ll talk to him about it,” Kidd said. “He’s a competitor. He likes to have discussions with the referees, but he has to be better. And as a group, we have to be better.”

Article by Patrick Moquin