The Los Angeles Lakers won their ninth straight game on Saturday night after Luke Kennard hit a game-winning 3-pointer to defeat the Orlando Magic 105-104.
However, the most controversial moment from the game came when superstar Luka Dončić was assessed a technical foul — his 16th of the season — which, under NBA rules, triggers a one-game suspension.
Doncic later explained the situation, which stemmed from a brief altercation with Magic center Goga Bitadze. He revealed that Bitadze made a personal comment about his family, and said he felt he had no choice but to stand up for himself in that moment.
[Goga] said at free throw he will [expletive] my whole family,” Doncic revealed postgame. “And at some point, I just can’t stand it. I gotta stand up for myself.”
Head coach JJ Redick said the team would appeal the suspension, and on Sunday, the NBA announced it had officially rescinded it. Doncic will now be available to play Monday against the Detroit Pistons.
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Technical fouls are certainly not rare for Doncic throughout his NBA career, but they seldom result from confrontations with other players; they usually come from constant chatter with the officials.
He finished Saturday’s game with a team-high 33 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, extending his dominant stretch of scoring 30-plus points in all nine games of the Lakers’ win streak.
The Lakers are now 46-25 overall, third in the Western Conference, and with 11 games remaining in the regular season, Doncic is leading the league with 33.4 points per game.
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