Dallas — Luka Doncic was given his 14th technical foul of the year in the second quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 120-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon.
Reversing his technical foul, Doncic now has 13 for the season, according to an NBA announcement on Monday. He had ten total technical fouls at the start of February, but he has since picked up three more that haven’t been revoked.
Any player who accumulates 16 technical fouls during the regular season is automatically suspended for one game; after that, a player is suspended for a further game for every two technical fouls.
With 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 38.0 percent from outside the arc, and 78.4 percent on free throws, Doncic has averaged 34.5 points, 9.7 assists, and 8.9 rebounds in 53 games this season.
The Mavs need Doncic for every game given how competitive the Western Conference is. Due to ankle pain, he is unsure if he will play against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
After dropping their past four games, the Mavs have a 34-27 record and are placed eighth in the Western Conference. Going into Monday’s NBA play, they are 1.5 games ahead of the ninth- and tenth-ranked Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. Doncic highlights maintaining a positive attitude as Dallas navigates its recent problems.
“It’s difficult, really. It’s difficult to lose games,” Doncic remarked. “In the NBA, you just need to bring that energy because you have another game in a day or two.”
