OKLAHOMA CITY — The arena screamed playoff atmosphere at the Paycom Center in the Lakers' second straight road game against the Thunder. But a controversial technical foul on Luka Dončić in the fourth quarter changed the momentum and eventual outcome, falling 136-120 in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
After hitting a floater over Thunder's Isaiah Hartenstein, Dončić turned toward the direction of a vocal fan and had words with them. The fan was also in direct view of an official, who called Dončić's second technical foul of the game, ejecting him with the score within one with seven minutes left.
Luka Doncic was ejected after picking up a second technical foul. pic.twitter.com/NGL3O3rgfy
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 9, 2025
"I have never got a fan ejected. But if he's going to talk, I'm going to talk back like always," Dončić said. "That had nothing to do with the ref, so I didn't really understand."
The pool report interview indicated that Dončić looked directly at an official and used vulgar language, the statement official Tony Brothers made after being asked about the controversial call in postgame.
"It was tough. We were right there. We fought the whole game... we came back in the third quarter, and we were fighting, man," Dončić said. "That's on me, too. I can't let my team down like that."
Dončić's absence gave Oklahoma City an extra advantage with his production lost, who had 23 points (five assists) up until his early exit. The Thunder went on 29-14 following the ejection, led by MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with a game-high 42 points on 53.8% (14-of-26) shooting.
The Lakers are now 18-21 on the road this season, which ranks the worst among the top six teams in both conferences.
LeBron James believed the officiating turned the game after the misread interaction involving Dončić. Jarred Vanderbilt was also hit with a technical foul minutes later after a block. From that point on, LeBron said, the game lost its rhythm.
"Weird couple minutes after that," LeBron James said on the tech. "I don't know why the ref was taking it personal."
James finished with a team-high 28 points in 35 minutes. Austin Reaves added 24 points (five assists, five rebounds) on six-of-12 shooting from the floor.
The loss comes on the eve of Dončić visiting his former team for the first time back in Dallas. The Lakers (48-31) will play their final back-to-back of the season and conclude their three-game road trip on Wednesday against the Mavericks.
"That's going to be a lot of emotion for me," Dončić said on returning to Dallas. "I'm looking forward to being back in Dallas with the fans and seeing my ex-teammates. It's going to be very emotional for me, for sure."
Dallas has lost three of the last four games as they continue their fight to stay in their current play-in position—despite their numerous injuries—sitting 10th in the West.