Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic has made his 16th technical foul this season and faces a suspension

Dallas – Mavericks star Luka Doncic He will be suspended for Sunday’s regular season final game unless the NBA office overturns a technical foul that was filed against him after the first quarter of Friday night’s 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

It was Doncic’s 16th technical foul this season, which resulted in an automatic one-match suspension. Doncic had another technician this season that was canceled after a routine review by the league’s office.

Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs could determine whether the Mavs get the third or fourth seed in the Western Conference. Dallas (51-30) is halfway behind the third-placed Golden State Warriors (51-29) and owns the tiebreak. The Warriors had games left in San Antonio and New Orleans.

Doncic was upset that a foul was not called up in his own half at the end of the first quarter, when the Mavs were 36-13 ahead of the Blazers. Doncic was undermined from behind by Portland Elijah Hughes on the play and pleaded his case for sentencing Tom Washington on his back.

After getting up, Doncic walked across the court to speak to crew chief Tony Brothers, despite the Dallas forward Dorian Finney Smith Try to block him. The brothers called Doncic for a technical seconds afterward.

“I asked him, how is that not a mistake? How is that not a mistake?” Doncic said. “He pushed me. It’s unfair. It’s unfair.”

Doncic finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes.

The Brothers fired Mavs coach Jason Kidd in a Dallas road loss to the Washington Wizards on April 1, calling Kidd for two fast techniques.

“Tony fired me as a player and now he’s fired me as a coach,” said Kidd, who has not been sent off this season. “What I told him was: Whose ball is this?” And he took that personally, unfortunately, and kicked me out. that happens “.