The Dallas Mavericks will be with their best player for their final game of the regular season against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday after all. All-Star guard Luka Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, but the league rescinded it on Saturday, which means Doncic will not be suspended for reaching the regular-season limit.
Doncic received the technical at the end of the first frame against the Blazers as he expressed some frustration that a foul wasn’t called on his heave attempt at the end of the quarter. Doncic felt like Portland guard Elijah Hughes made contact with him during the attempt, which you can see below:
Doncic was unsurprisingly upset about the call. “I asked him, ‘How is that not a foul? How is that not a foul?”http://www.cbssports.com/” Doncic said of what he did to earn a technical, via ESPN. “He T’d me up. That’s unfair. That’s unfair.”
Doncic being able to play in the game against the Spurs on Sunday is a huge boost for the Mavericks, as the result could ultimately determine whether they finish third or fourth in the Western Conference heading into postseason play. Heading into Saturday night’s action, the Mavericks are a half-game behind the Golden State Warriors for third place. The Mavericks hold the tiebreaker between the two teams, and would just need to finish with the same record as the Warriors to take third. For our complete playoff picture, click here.
Even better news for Dallas is that the technical foul count resets after the regular season, and every player goes into the playoffs with a clean slate. A player needs seven technical fouls in the same postseason to trigger a one-game suspension.
