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Luka Doncic is fined $35,000 for making ‘money’ gesture at refs after a debatable non-call at the end of the Mavs’ controversial loss to Warriors
The fallout from the controversial ending to Wednesday’s Mavericks-Warriors game continued Friday as Dallas star Luka Doncic was fined $35,000 for directing the ‘money’ or ‘pay me’ gesture at officials after a disputed non-call.
Doncic walked toward officials while rubbing his fingers together with 1.7 seconds left in the 127-125 loss on Wednesday night. The four-time All-Star apparently was upset that a foul wasn’t called when he missed a layup on the previous play, feeling he was hacked by Warriors star Draymond Green.
Dallas was trailing 125-122 when Doncic caught a pass under the basket and his layup bounced off the back of the rim. After the Mavericks committed a foul to stop the clock, Doncic made the gesture.
The NBA said the fine was for ‘an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official.’
Officials didn’t give him a technical over the gesture. Doncic frequently complains to officials and is one technical foul away from 16 this season, which would trigger a one-game suspension. The count doesn’t carry over into the playoffs.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is seen reacting to officials during Wednesday’s loss
Dallas owner Mark Cuban said he planned to protest the loss to the Warriors over a sequence late in the third quarter that led to an uncontested dunk for Golden State’s Kevon Looney.
The Mavericks thought they had possession coming out of a timeout and lined up on their offensive end. The Warriors inbounded on the other end with no defenders, leading to Looney’s easy bucket for a 90-87 Golden State lead.
Before the timeout, official Andy Nagy signaled possession for Golden State when the ball went out of bounds, but quickly pointed to the Dallas bench to indicate a timeout.
The Mavs contended that official Michael Smith must have thought Dallas had possession because he was on the same end of the floor as the Mavs. Dallas believed officials should have stopped play to sort out the confusion.
As a result, Dallas fell to 36-37 for the season – tied for eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
That’s significant as the playoffs approach, because Dallas is currently headed towards a play-in game, rather than qualifying for the postseason outright.
The Mavericks host the Hornets on Friday before heading to Charlotte for Sunday’s rematch. They will then travel to Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Miami and Atlanta before finishing the year on a three-game homestand.
One fan poked fun at the NBA for demanding money to resolve Wednesday’s situation
