Luka Doncic, Lakers
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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers on court against the Sacramento Kings in the first half at Crypto.com Arena on March 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Slovenian guard Luka Doncic picked up his 14th technical of the season during the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 110-101 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
As a result, Doncic is now just two more technical fouls away from an automatic one-game suspension. With just 21 games left, Doncic and the Lakers must tread lightly as they battle for a top-six guaranteed playoff berth. It’s worth noting that Doncic’s potential one-game suspension won’t carry into the playoffs, where the technical foul count would be reset to zero. However, discipline becomes much stricter to account for the postseason’s shorter schedule, and a player is suspended for seven technicals.
Dave McMenamin
Luka Doncic’s technical foul tonight is his 14th of the season. Two more and he’ll be suspended a game. Something to monitor as the Lakers fight for playoff seeding with 21 games left after tonight.
Luka Doncic’s Technical Fouls
The Lakers star picked up his 14th technical of the season Tuesday when he gestured at an official after making a foul shot at the 1:17 mark of the second quarter. He immediately charged at the referee to argue his case until teammate Austin Reaves urged him not to escalate the situation.
Doncic (14) is second in the NBA in technical fouls this season, behind only Phoenix Suns wing Dillon Brooks (16) and above only Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (12) and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green (11).
The Slovenian has consistently finished in the top three in technical fouls in recent years, picking up 15 in the 2022-24 season and 13 in the 2024-25 season. Last year, he had 13 technicals in just 50 games, but still ranked fourth in the league.
Lakers Win Third in a Row
Doncic’s issues with NBA officials notwithstanding, the Lakers notched their third consecutive win on Tuesday, marking a huge turnaround for a team that had lost three in a row after the All-Star break and seemed in a bit of a funk.
The NBA MVP candidate finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but also had seven turnovers. As a team, the Lakers had a whopping 20 turnovers in just three quarters, even though they led 78-76 entering the fourth quarter.
After the Lakers went on a 34-23 run in the fourth quarter to escape with the win, head coach JJ Redick admitted that the Pelicans were not an easy opponent for his team.
“You know, they’re publicly talking about it: they want to be in the play-in and everybody loves playing the Lakers here, so it’s going to be a tough game,” Redick said of the Pelicans, via LA Times’ Broderick Turner.
“And I think we have to do a great job of getting back and a great job of protecting the [rim] … I mean, they’re just at the rim all the time …They’re playing really good basketball right now.”
The Lakers (37-24) will next face the Denver Nuggets (38-24) in an away contest on Thursday night. The outcome could have critical playoff seeding implications in a conference where the third and sixth seeds are separated by just 1.5 games.