Mavs star Luka Doncic displays glaring weakness that he must fix before it's too late

Going into Tuesday night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Mavericks were fresh off a sloppy loss to the Indiana Pacers. A mix of bad coaching and terrible transition defense led to the Mavericks' demise against the Pacers.

On Tuesday, the Mavericks were looking to make a bounce-back win against the 37-19 Cavaliers. After a back-and-forth affair that saw the Mavs take a one-point lead with seconds on the clock, Cavs guard Max Strus would heave a half-court shot for the win. The buzzer-beating half-court shot became the second-longest game-winner in NBA history.

Mavs star Luka Doncic displays glaring weakness that he must fix before it's too late

Throughout the game, it became clear that the referees had an agenda against the Mavs. Multiple missed calls after more missed calls caused the Mavericks costly possessions and free throw opportunities that would have likely put this game out of reach.

Despite the agonizing loss for fans, Luka Doncic had a great game with 45 points and 14 assists. Doncic constantly kept the Mavs within reach with his six made 3-pointers and even single-handily brought the Mavericks back from a 15-point deficit during the second quarter.

However, Doncic couldn't keep his cool and received his 13th technical foul call on the season. It's unclear if when Doncic yelled after making a tough bucket was toward the referee or the Cavs bench, but either way, Doncic had been begging to receive a tech throughout the first half.

With 24 games left in the season, Doncic will need to avoid receiving three more technical fouls, or he will be suspended for one game after his 16th. This isn't the first time that Doncic has been in technical foul trouble with so much time remaining in the season. This time last season, Doncic was just two technical fouls shy of receiving a suspension. He reached 16 technical fouls in the last two seasons, but his final technical fouls were rescinded in both seasons, allowing him to play.

For the remainder of the 2023-24 NBA season, Doncic will need to tread lightly when it comes to showing his emotions, especially towards the officials. For more updates on Luka Doncic and Dallas Mavericks basketball, stay plugged in.