Yahoo Finance Luka Doncic calls out referees for ignoring fouls after multiple face hits
Luka Doncic has been angry at the referees several times this year for apparently refusing to call fouls when he gets manhandled on the court, and these days he’s only getting angrier.
Doncic, who put up 36 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, got hit in the face three separate times as the Mavericks battled and lost to the Indiana Pacers. Only one of them was called a foul, an obvious knee-to-the-jaw hit that Edmond Sumner delivered on Doncic in the second quarter.
Doncic was particularly upset about a late fourth quarter hit he took from Victor Oladipo, which drew blood and put him on the floor for several seconds.
"They hit me in the face, and that should be a foul," Doncic said, via ESPN. "They should look at it. I think the rule is when you get hit in the face, they've got to look if it's flagrant or no, right? Like I said, I was hit in the face three times. Two of them was not a foul."
"They didn't care," Doncic said of the referees. "It was clear. Everybody saw on the Jumbotron."
This has been a problem before. Doncic has spoken up several times this season to complain about how the referees seem to be blind to how he’s defended. Doncic is big for a guard and teams have been very physical when they defend him. Doncic believes that his size is causing the referees to lose their whistles when he’s fouled.
Doncic has a point, especially after Sunday night, but it’s not like the referees are completely ignoring how he’s defended. The Pacers’ TJ Warren picked up three fouls in 12 seconds while guarding Doncic.
TJ Warren fouled out after picking up three fouls in one possession guarding Luka. pic.twitter.com/HYR7LSbKM1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 9, 2020
The comments Doncic made about the referees are likely to draw the ire of the NBA, so he might want to locate his checkbook in case he needs to pay a fine.
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