Luka Doncic appeared to take issue with how he was officiated after fouling out in the playoffs for the first time in Wednesday's Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics.
The Dallas Mavericks star received his disqualifying sixth foul with 4:12 left to play in the fourth quarter.
"I don't know. We couldn't play physical, so I don't know," he told reporters after the 106-99 loss. "I don't want to say nothing, but six fouls in the NBA Finals. … Come on, man. (Be) better than that."
Doncic was whistled for a contentious sixth personal while attempting to stay in front of a driving Jaylen Brown, who suddenly changed direction with a between-the-legs dribble. Despite Mavs head coach Jason Kidd challenging the call, officials upheld their ruling that Doncic illegally blocked Brown's path.
LUKA FOULS OUT IN A CLOSE GAME 3 😳 pic.twitter.com/S0frCc5COD
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2024
At the time of the foul, Dallas was on a 17-2 run that trimmed a 21-point fourth-quarter Boston lead to just three. Dallas managed to get within two points of the Celtics following Doncic's dismissal but failed to hit a field goal in the final minute as Joe Mazzulla's squad pulled away to take a dominant 3-0 lead in the Finals.
"They called a foul. I was stuck. I had to challenge it," Kidd said postgame, according to Bally Sports. "Had to challenge because it was a close call, but the referee called it a foul. Gotta move along, move forward."
