Mavericks news: Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron calll out refs’ soft Porzingis ejection

Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki does not approve of Kristaps Porzingis’ ejection

Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis had his first NBA playoff game on Monday night. They face the LA Clippers from the Walt Disney World bubble. It was the Mavs first playoff game without Dirk Nowitzki on the roster since 1990. The Clippers are one of the best teams in the NBA. Winning would be no easy task for the Mavs.

It turned out to be a wild series opener. LA scored the first ten points of the game. The Mavs continued fighting, though. They held a three-point lead at halftime. Shortly after that, the game shifted.

Kristaps Porzingis was ejection from game one with 9:10 remaining in the third quarter. He picked up his first technical by punching the air following a missed call. His second came after Marcus Morris tried to start something with Luka Doncic. KP stepped in to defend his teammate and received a technical. Many people were not happy about the call.

Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki shares his thoughts on the Kristaps Porzingis ejection

Dirk Nowitzki took to Twitter to say this about KP being tossed from game one.

The Mavs GOAT nailed it. Other star players would have received zero technical fouls for those actions. It is the playoffs. KP got upset about a missed call and defended his teammate. To be thrown out for that little seems absurd.

Nowitzki was far from the only one to disagree. LeBron James tweeted this shortly after it happened.

https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1295552048998514688

Super Bowl winning quarterback and Mavericks fan Patrick Mahomes let his thoughts be known as well.

Porzingis’ ejection was the turning point in the game. The Mavs were up by five when he was thrown out. The Clippers grabbed the lead just two minutes later. Dallas could only manage to tie the game from that point on.

It will be a learning experience for Kristaps Porzingis. He must do better moving forward because the Mavericks need him on the floor to pull the upset. Expect a big bounce back in game two. Do not miss it.