The Dallas Mavericks got their first win after the All-Star break tonight. Luka Doncic and Co. defeated the Phoenix Suns 123-113 to improve their record to 33-23. The game was a heated battle from start to finish, and both teams left everything on the floor. Luka Doncic had another incredible performance, finishing with 41 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds. However, Doncic’s night almost turned into a disaster as the official penalized him with a technical foul for a minor mistake.

During the game, Doncic was holding the ball while the official stopped the play. When the referee asked Luka for the ball, the Mavs guard tossed the ball at him. The basketball almost hit the official’s face before he caught it. Luka immediately apologized for his mistake, but the official blew the whistle and called a technical foul on the Mavs superstar. The controversial call left Luka and the NBA world fuming.

One fan wrote on X, “I’m not a fan of most of Luka’s antics, but someone get this ref some thicker skin.”

One fan called the referee soft for calling a foul on Luka.

An X user blamed the referees and the players for such soft calls in the league.

After announcer Reggie Miller said, “He’s lucky he wasn’t thrown out.” One fan defended Luka by claiming he apologized as soon as he threw the ball.

This fan even compared Luka’s vibe with Kevin Durant’s pre-game confrontation with a heckling fan.

Was Luka Doncic’s technical foul called for?

Although many fans believe that the technical foul on Luka was a soft call by the official, that has been the norm in the NBA for many years. According to the NBA rules, “The deliberate act of throwing the ball or any object at an official by a player, coach, trainer, or other team bench person is a technical foul and violators are subject to ejection from the game.” So, the official T’ing up Luka for tossing the ball at him is completely within the rules. Similar calls have been made countless times throughout NBA history. In 2021, JJ Redick even got ejected from a game for passing the ball to the official when he was not looking.

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Even Hall of Famer Allen Iverson got T’d up during his heyday for bounce passing the ball to the referee during a game. Not only does this rule apply in the NBA, it also holds firm at the collegiate level. During a rivalry game between Iowa and LSU last year, superstar Caitlin Clark got T’d up for tossing the ball to the sidelines.

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Although the officials could be more lenient with their calls, the players need to stop making the same mistakes when they are aware of the consequences.