Mavs star Luka Doncic asked security to eject a fan who he said had been heckling him during Wednesday night’s 132-109 loss to the Suns.
DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic’s frustration Wednesday night resulted in him being called for a technical foul, a heckling fan getting ejected and Dallas coach Jason Kidd calling out his team for losing focus for the second time this week.
Doncic’s technical foul and his request for the heckler to be ejected bookended the Mavs’ third-quarter meltdown during a 132-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center. Dallas was outscored 43-20 in the quarter, when Suns star Devin Booker scored 22 of his 46 points, as Phoenix turned a competitive game into a blowout.
Doncic reacted to the heckler, a Suns fan who wore a Booker «El Valle» jersey while sitting in the second row behind the midcourt press area, late in the the third quarter. The man shouted: «Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!»
Doncic, who was walking near midcourt, turned around and stared at the fan for a few seconds. As Doncic jogged back on defense, he waved toward Mavs vice president of security Brian Kinzig, pointed at the fan and gestured that he wanted him ejected. Doncic approached Kinzig on the court during the break between quarters, pointed at the fan again and requested for him to be ejected. The fan left without further incident after being approached by an arena staffer.
Doncic took umbrage with the reporting of his request for the fan’s ejection.
«He was cursing me the whole first half, too,» said Doncic, who had 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the loss, which Mavs co-star Kyrie Irving missed due to a sprained right thumb.
Asked why he didn’t ask for the fan to be ejected during the first half, Doncic said: «Because I never would eject a fan. They paid for tickets, but I had enough. It’s a little bit of frustration.»
It was the seventh straight win for the Suns (26-18), who have climbed to fifth in the Western Conference standings. The Mavs (24-20) have lost five of seven to fall to eighth place.
