Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic Speaks on Viral Trash Talk with Memphis Grizzlies' Vince Williams Jr.
MEMPHIS — During the Dallas Mavericks' 120-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, Luka Doncic recorded 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks in 44 minutes. Throughout the night, he was trash-talking with defenders, trying to contain him and interacting with the FedEx Forum crowd.
Often in the second half of the game, Grizzlies wing Vince Williams Jr. played physical defense to try to make it difficult on Doncic, even face-guarding off the ball and picking him up full-court. With 24.8 seconds remaining in the game, the Slovenian superstar was called for a technical foul after an interaction with Williams.
Doncic described his interactions with Williams as trash talk but was confused about why he received a technical foul and the Grizzlies' wing did not.
"He was just talking [expletive] the whole time," Doncic said of Williams. "I told him — I wish I could play him one-on-one. That's when I got a tech. So, I don't know. The referees have to let us talk, you know? It's a part of the game. I love it."
Among the viral moments involving Doncic and Williams included the Mavs superstar staring him down after pulling down a defensive rebound.
Another exchange involved Doncic pointing to the scoreboard after Williams was trash-talking following containing the Mavs superstar to an air-ball on a short-range jumper. Both sides enjoyed the interactions and competition.
"I feel like y'all seen it at the end of the game," Williams said. "I feel like he did a good job executing their plays and he capitalized on our mistakes."
Dallas Mavs superstar Luka Doncic and Memphis Grizzlies wing Vince Williams Jr.
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Doncic credited Williams for his defensive impact, calling him a "great" defender — as he usually does when he's asked directly about an on-ball defender. However, he continued to mention his confusion regarding the technical foul he received, stating there were double technical fouls against the Utah Jazz last week when the two sides trash-talked, but now there's inconsistency.
"I think he's a great defender," Doncic said of Williams. "The last game, I didn't do nothing and we both got techs. This game, we were both talking, and only I got the tech, so I don't know."
When the world's best are competing, Doncic would like the officiating crews to allow there to be a competitive nature without what he feels are overreactions on their part by calling technical fouls.
"Yeah, the refs have to just chill on that part," Doncic said.
Doncic, who has finished with 15 technical fouls in each of his last three seasons, has four techs on the season if his latest isn't eventually rescinded. He had his most recent technical foul rescinded days later.
