Luka Doncic picks up 16th technical foul: Suspended for Mavericks season finale

The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first quarter on Friday night. They were up 36-13 and had every statistical advantage imaginable, but things quickly turned sour as Luka Doncic fired the final shot of the period.

The 23-year-old superstar was hit on the shoulder as he went up, but the referees did not call a foul. Doncic was not happy and continued to argue his case as the television cameras went to break. The argument resulted in a technical foul, and it was a costly one for the MVP candidate.

The April 8 technical against the Blazers was his 16th of the season, which results in an automatic one-game suspension from the league. Assuming the foul is not rescinded, Doncic will miss Sunday’s season finale against the San Antonio Spurs. Here is a look at why Luka was upset about the technical foul.

Luka Doncic picks up 16th technical foul: Suspended for Dallas Mavericks season finale

Doncic was not happy about the no-call, but he was even more upset about the technical foul. He had started singing to keep himself calm, and it appeared he had the issue under control. Luka did not think his action on Friday night at the American Airlines Center warranted a technical.

The Dallas Mavericks will be without their superstar in the season finale, which makes their slim hopes of moving up to third in the Western Conference even slimmer. They would have to defeat the Spurs and have the Golden State Warriors lose one of their final two games. The Dubs play a back-to-back set on Saturday and Sunday but should be favored in both games.

Luka Doncic needs to get his technical foul issue under control. It has hurt the Dallas Mavericks on several occasions during his first four NBA seasons, and it will cost him the 2021-2022 regular-season finale. The 23-year-old star will look to get it rescinded, but do not expect to see him play against the Spurs.