Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic and Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams were the recipients of fines on Friday that totaled more than $50,000.
Luka Doncic came up on the NBA’s radar during his team’s ugly Wednesday loss to the Golden State Warriors. The game made headlines this week when confusion between one of the officials and the Maverick’s public announcer led to a moment where the Warriors were able to score a basket while the entire Dallas lineup was on the other side of the court.
The moment led to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban publicly blasting the referees for the game and filing an official protest of the moment after they lost by just two points in the pivotal Western Conference matchup.
Related: Mavericks owner blasts refs and files formal protest after embarrassing blunder in loss to Warriors
Well, the situation also ticked off All-Star Luka Doncic and he reportedly made an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official” that landed him a $35,000 fine from the NBA today. Doncic reportedly made a money gesture with his hand while staring down a ref with seconds left in the eventual 127-125 loss.
Luka Doncic stats (’22-’23): 32.9 PPG 8.6 RPG, 8.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 35% 3PT
Yet the fines did not end there on Friday. Yahoo Sports broke the news that the league fined Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams $20,000 during the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, which was also on Wednesday.
“The Lakers had more than double the amount of free throws as the Suns and outscored Phoenix by 21 points at the line. “Where do you see a game with 46 free throws for one team? That’s just not right,” Willams said. “I don’t care how you slice it. It is happening to us too much. Other teams are reaching, other teams are hitting, and we’re not getting the same call, and I’m tired of it.”
