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Lakers star Luka Doncic shoots between Orlando’s Tristan da Silva, left, and Wendell Carter Jr. during the first half Saturday. (Phelan M. Ebenhack \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic<\/a> picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in Saturday\u2019s dramatic 105-104 win<\/a> over the Orlando Magic, putting the Lakers<\/a> superstar in line for a one-game suspension as the Lakers take their nine-game winning streak to Detroit on Monday.<\/p>\n Doncic and Magic forward Goga Bitadze<\/a> were jawing back and forth in the third quarter when Doncic was at the free-throw line. Doncic missed his first free-throw attempt and paused before taking his second, speaking with an official while wagging his finger in the direction of Bitadze.<\/p>\n Doncic said Bitadze told him in Serbian \u201che\u2019d f\u2014 my whole family,\u201d which prompted him to react.<\/p>\n Read more:Luke Kennard’s last-second three-pointer lifts Lakers to ninth consecutive win<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I let my team down getting that last tech,\u201d said Doncic, who is hopeful the NBA will rescind the technical. \u201cBut honestly, I wasn’t trying to. \u2026 This is a basketball court. At some point, I just can’t stand it. I gotta stand up for myself. But I know I gotta do better. My teammates, I know they have my back, so I let them down today.\u201d<\/p>\n The NBA automatically suspends any player who receives 16 technical fouls during a season. Doncic has reached the threshold two other times, but the NBA rescinded the 16th technical<\/a> each time, allowing him to avoid suspension.<\/p>\n Bitadze, who is Georgian and played several professional seasons in Serbia, refuted Doncic\u2019s account of the interaction, saying he first heard inappropriate comments from Doncic and only repeated what he heard Doncic say first.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m a fan of his game and don’t want to look like it was directed to his family, or anything,\u201d Bitadze said in a phone interview with ESPN and the Orlando Sentinel<\/a>. \u201cIt was just in the heat of the moment. I heard what he said and I felt like I had to respond the same way. So, from my side, if he feels like I said something too much or crossed the line, I apologize as a man. I can take [accountability], but I didn’t say anything but what he said. What he came out and said, I don’t think that’s the truth. I know that’s not the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Crew chief Marc Davis said in a pool report that both players were \u201cassessed technical fouls for their continual taunting of one another.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were both warned to cease their comments directed towards one another between the two free throws,\u201d Davis said. \u201cAfter the free throw and as the ball entered the frontcourt, they were both correctly assessed technical fouls for their unsportsmanlike comments directed towards one another.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials played a pivotal role in the game that came down to a winning three-pointer from the Lakers\u2019 Luke Kennard<\/a> with 0.6 seconds remaining. The Lakers trailed by two when LeBron James forced a turnover from Jalen Suggs on an in-bounds pass with 4.7 seconds left. The close play went through several minutes of hawkeye replay on the videoboard that zoomed in on James\u2019 leg and Suggs fingertips. Officials called it Lakers ball in real time. The Magic crowd \u2014 announced at 19,597 as the second-largest in Magic history, trailing only last year\u2019s game against the Lakers that drew one more person \u2014 was confident that referees would overturn it.<\/p>\n But Davis said in a pool report \u201cthere was not clear and conclusive evidence to overturn the on-court ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:Luka Doncic’s 60-point game thrusts Lakers star into middle of MVP debate<\/a><\/p>\n Players from both teams were pleading for foul calls most of the game. The Magic and Lakers are first and third in the NBA in free-throw attempts, but the Lakers attempted only nine in the first half. The Lakers finished 19 of 29 from the free-throw line while the Magic were 21 for 23.<\/p>\n \u201c[Officials] didn’t have a real good control of that basketball game,\u201d Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Doncic picked up his 15th technical foul of the season against Denver on March 5, putting him on alert for a possible suspension. It was the last time that the Lakers lost before their current nine-game winning streak, which is the franchise\u2019s longest since the 2019-20 season that culminated with their 17th NBA championship.<\/p>\n Doncic has averaged 40 points per game and has shot 40.3% from three-point range during the scorching run. The Lakers climbed from sixth place in the West to third place.<\/p>\n Doncic hit daring fadeaway three-pointers, threw sky-high lobs to teammates and nailed a dramatic winning shot against the Nuggets at home to add cinematic highlights to his budding most valuable player case.<\/a> On defense, he had five steals against Miami and four more against the Magic.<\/p>\n Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.<\/a><\/p>\n