NBA: Lakers star Luka Doncic gets 16th technical foul rescinded

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will be in the lineup on Monday night in Detroit after the NBA rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season, which would have triggered an automatic one-game suspension.

Doncic received a technical foul late in the third quarter of Saturday’s 116-109 win over the Orlando Magic. The call, a double technical also assessed to Magic center Goga Bitadze, occurred while Doncic was at the free-throw line, with the two players exchanging words before officials handed out the penalties. The foul brought Doncic to the suspension threshold, prompting the Lakers to appeal immediately.

On Sunday, the league ruled in favor of the Lakers, rescinding the technical foul and keeping Doncic at 15 for the season. This clears him to play in Monday’s road game against the Detroit Pistons. This isn’t the first time Doncic has narrowly avoided suspension; during his years with the Dallas Mavericks, two of his 16th technical fouls were overturned, allowing him to sidestep the automatic one-game ban.

Despite the technical foul, Doncic’s performance on Saturday remained strong. After a rough second half (2-for-13 from the floor, 0-for-7 from three-point range), he finished with 33 points and eight assists, helping the Lakers extend their winning streak to nine games.

For the season, Doncic is averaging 33.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists over 59 games. He will need to avoid receiving another technical foul in the final 11 games of the season to prevent an automatic suspension from being enforced.

—Field Level Media/Reuters