By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
An altercation in the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers led to the ejection of Kris Dunn.
The 31-year-old American guard of the Clippers initially shoved Luka Doncic into LeBron James at the end of a play, late in the NBA Emirates Cup and Regular Season contest. Quickly supporting his Lakers teammate and potential future teammate on the senior national team of Slovenia, Jaxson Hayes responded by pushing Dunn. The players of both Los Angeles sides were then separated.
After being issued two technical fouls, Dunn was removed from the game, with Hayes being called for one technical foul.
“Everybody got each other’s back on this team. So, I appreciate him. I’ll pay his fine for sure, but that just shows what kind of team we are,” said 26-year-old Doncic in a postgame interview, sharing his view on the heated argument and actions, which are likely to indeed attract league sanctions.
“I told him right away, ‘Thanks for having my back’. That says a lot about him and about this team,” Doncic added in the postgame press conference.
With the situation on the court escalating, the Ljubljana native was far from letting it slide.
“Well, I was waiting for a rebound, and a cheap shot in my back. So, I’m not going to just stand. I ain’t afraid of nobody,” he explained his reaction. “That’s what the game is about. Sometimes, it is going to get physical. There is a lot of trash talk.”
After improving to 13-4 in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season and clinching a berth in the Quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup, the Lakers will also be looking for homecourt advantage in the next round with the former team of Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks, visiting crypto.com Arena on Friday.