Luka Doncic and Jason Kidd ejected as Dallas Mavericks fall to Timberwolves

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was ejected with two minutes remaining in the third quarter on Dec. 19 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a rough night for the 23-year-old superstar. The Mavs offense stagnated in the second quarter, and Luka was frustrated by the lack of foul calls on Monday night.

He drew more contact in the third quarter, but there was no whistle. As Doncic was getting back on defense, he said something to referee Rodney Mott that got him two technical fouls and an automatic ejection. Head coach Jason Kidd protected his star player and gave the referees an ear full, which resulted in two technical fouls and his second ejection as Mavericks head coach.

Luka hitting the showers early ended his franchise-record streak of scoring 20-plus points in each game. Here is a closer look at Luka’s performance, and how the Mavericks responded after their superstar and head coach were ejected.

Luka Doncic and Jason Kidd ejected as Dallas Mavericks fall to Timberwolves

It was shocking to see Doncic ejected in the third quarter. He picked up two immediate technical fouls and was thrown out for saying something to the official. This is not the first time Rodney Mott has ejected him from a game, but it was surprising to see number 77 ejected so quickly.

Doncic finished with 19 points, six rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and four turnovers in 28 minutes of action. He was five of 17 from the field as the Mavericks were outscored by 14 points with Luka on the floor on Monday night. It was far from his best game, and it snapped his franchise-record streak of 36 straight games with 20-plus points dating back to last season.

It was a hot shooting night for the Timberwolves that propelled them to a 116-106 victory on Dec. 19. The Mavs were down 20 when Luka and coach Kidd were ejected with two minutes left in the third quarter. Dallas won the fourth quarter as Davis Bertans got hot from long range, but it was just not enough to pull off the win.

The Mavs were without Tim Hardaway Jr., Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, and Josh Green coming into the game, and Dorian FInney-Smith was injured in the fourth quarter. It looks like the Mavericks will be shorthanded for a few games, and they will need Luka to shine if they want to get back in the win column.

Christian Wood finally earned a start next to Luka Doncic, and he responded with a 15-point double-double. Spencer Dinwddie was the team's leading scorer with 20 points, and the Mavs offense played well, but they just did not get enough stops on Monday night.

The technical fouls are always something to monitor with Luka Doncic. He picked up his seventh and eighth on Dec. 19. Luka has flirted with suspensions for picking up too many technical fouls in recent years, and this season looks no different.

The Dallas Mavericks stay in Minnesota for a rematch against the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Fans can bet Luka Doncic will be amped up to help get his team back on track. Stay tuned to see how he responds to the ejection in the rematch.