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OKLAHOMA CITY — In the aftermath of Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic’s ejection, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams shared his take on what reportedly led to Doncic’s second technical foul in Tuesday’s win. After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault defended the officials’ fourth-quarter decision to slap Luka with a second technical foul, Williams addressed NBA fans who cross the line while enjoying their courtside seats.
For Williams, the third-year forward hasn’t been triggered to the magnitude we’ve seen other NBA players react, calling out fans, which sometimes results in ending their evening despite purchasing expensive tickets. Still, Williams understands how certain words can lead to a player losing his cool mid-game.
“There is a lot you can say to piss me off, but I don’t really care. I don’t think I’m ever going to point out a fan,” Williams said. “I feel like they should get kicked out. That’s usually a referee’s job. There’s obviously slurs and stuff that you probably, as a fan, want to avoid because that will usually get people going, or talking about people’s family I guess. It hasn’t happened to me yet. But I feel like some of it, too, is emracing it, but I feel like those are probably lines that get crossed.
“Like I said, I don’t know what was said tonight, and being a basketball player, it very well could have been something that crossed the line. Again, I don’t know what was said. But for him to have that reaction, it’s something. Everybody’s line is completely different,” Williams concluded.
After the Thunder fan came forward, claiming Doncic screamed expletives toward him in front of an NBA official, which earned a second technical foul, and ended Luka’s night, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“I mentioned that he was short and he missed it and he turned around and he shot an explicative [sic] back and J.T. [Orr] happened to see it and that point, T’d him up,” Thunder fan Jeremy Price said.
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Mark Daigneault backs up refs after Luka Doncic ejection
Before Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams weighed in on Lakers guard Luka Doncic's controversial ejection, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault believes in NBA official J.T. Orr’s version of what happened. Orr told Daigneault that Doncic’s expletives were hurled in Orr’s direction.
“It was directed at the official, from what I understand, but I asked the official. I always ask the officials what they say because I’m trying to calibrate where the line is,” Daigneault said. “I’ve heard some crazy stuff now. So, I’m trying to figure out where the line is.”
The Thunder avenged Sunday’s blowout loss, beating the Lakers 136-120.
