Lakers' Luka Doncic Shockingly Ejected in Fourth Quarter vs Thunder

Five-time All-NBA First Team Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic was stunningly assessed his second technical foul and ejected early into the fourth quarter of L.A.'s hotly contested road rematch against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic recapped the news on X:

Luka Doncic just picked up his second technical foul and has been ejected from the game.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 9, 2025

The call was questionable at best.

Doncic made an 11-foot pull-up jumper over Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, putting L.A. up 108-107, and then appeared to say something as he jogged back up the court. Doncic was promptly whistled for his second technical foul and ejected with 7:40 remaining in regulation.

They really ejected Luka for this, I’m sick 😭 pic.twitter.com/rnY4uClQ9f
— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) April 9, 2025

Per Rob Perez of Sirius XM and Bleacher Report, it seems a Thunder fan may have baited Doncic into a reaction.

the guy in the alternate jersey standing up 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/Jsie4qJ81S
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 9, 2025

Oklahoma City has taken over with L.A. down its best player. The Thunder have outscored the Lakers 15-7, and currently lead by seven, 122-115, with 3:39 remaining.

Doncic departs the game with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting (3-of-7 from distance) and 6-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe, five assists, three rebounds and a block in 31 minutes.

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Thunder All-Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads both teams with a game-high 37 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field (4-of-8 from distance) and 9-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe. All-Star forward Jalen Williams has 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor and 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line. Hartenstein has a game-most 14 rebounds.

Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James has 28 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from deep) and 9-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Shooting guard Austin Reaves has 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field (4-of-7 from long range) and 8-of-12 shooting from the foul line, plus five assists and five rebounds.

This was a massive measuring-stick game for Los Angeles, prior to the bizarre Doncic ejection. He has often found himself at odds with game officials, and this move could have been a reaction to his past history as much as it was to this one incident.

On Sunday, the Lakers shocked the world, massacring the Thunder by 27 points, in Oklahoma City, 126-99. Doncic led the way, as he often does against the West's top seed.

In that prior encounter, the 6-foot-6 guard scored a Lakers-most 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor (5-of-11 from distance) and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line, while also contributing seven rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals.

The fact that, on Tuesday, the Lakers had been playing the Thunder to a draw prior to Doncic's ejection suggests that L.A. may actually be able to give Oklahoma City a real series in this spring's playoffs.

In a roundabout sort of way, Doncic's ejection might wind up being a galvanizing element for Los Angeles going forward. There's real history between these two teams now. If the Thunder go on to win on Tuesday, Los Angeles may understandably feel like it was robbed, and would have won had Doncic been there down the stretch.

Heading into the game, Doncic had been averaging 27.3 points on .421/.358/.808 shooting splits, 8.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.6 steals in his 25 games for Los Angeles.

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