By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic was fined $35,000 by the NBA.
The league sanctioned the Slovenian star on Friday, following the gesture suggesting the referees were bribed in the closing moments of the Dallas Mavericks home game opposite the Golden State Warriors Wednesday.
Per the press release: “Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić has been fined $35,000 for directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
The incident occurred with :01.7 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Mavericks’ 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors on March 22 at American Airlines Center.”
Doncic, 24, missed the opportunity to reduce the deficit to one point in the dying seconds of the back-and-forth battle. The immediate protests called for a foul by Draymond Green and led to the gesture referring to money. He was visibly frustrated with the referees throughout the game.
The Mavs falling to 36-37 created a distance of 1.5 games from a direct ticket to the 2023 Playoffs. Looking to the reverse direction, the W-L tally is currently part of a four-team tie from the eighth seed of the Western Conference to the 11th seed which carries the burden of direct elimination without a second opportunity in the Play-Ins.
Dealing with must-win situations, the team coached by Jason Kidd is heading into a home-and-away series versus the Charlotte Hornets stretching from Friday evening to the next edition of NBA Sundays.
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