Luka Doncic Receives 16th Technical; Faces Suspension in Season Finale

Luka Doncic's regular season may have just come to an end one game early.

Dalton Trigg | Apr 8, 2022

Things were going as good as they could've been for the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter of their matchup with the lowly Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Dallas led 36-13 after the first frame, and Luka Doncic combined with Dwight Powell to put up 22 points by themselves. But perhaps things were going a little too good.

USATSI_18047060 — Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic might be suspended for the Mavs' season finale on Sunday.

Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic — Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The Mavs will face either the Utah Jazz or the Denver Nuggets in the first round.

Luka Doncic vs. Cade Cunningham

After being hacked on a half-court heave at the end of the first, Doncic was called for his 16th technical foul of the season. Doncic was clearly displeased with not getting the call, but it didn't appear that he said anything to lead official Tony Brothers to warrant such action.

Because it was Doncic's 16th technical foul, he will serve an automatic one-game suspension in the season finale against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night unless the NBA rescinds the call in the next 48 hours. The league has already rescinded one of Doncic's technical fouls earlier in the season, so perhaps it can happen one more time after the tape is reviewed.

GettyImages-1389353804 — John Fisher/Getty Images

Doncic has performed at an MVP level in the second half of this season.

0C5B14E9-9F3F-47F1-8918-67B5FA0E6EC0 — Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

Doncic recently won an epic duel with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks — David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Kidd has exceeded exceptions in his first season coaching the Mavs.

The Mavs have had their fair share of friction with Brothers lately, as he gave coach Jason Kidd his first ejection of the season last week when Dallas lost to the Washington Wizards on the road, 135-102.

If Doncic's 16th technical foul doesn't get rescinded, the good news for the Mavs is that he'll get some much-needed rest before the postseason begins next week. Doncic is averaging 28.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists in 35.6 minutes per game. He is the only player in the league to average at least 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists this season.

Published Apr 8, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.