By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
A bad Mavericks stretch got worse on Monday when head coach Jason Kidd and star guard Luka Doncic were both ejected in a 116-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After the game, Kidd was clearly irked but bit his tongue on the podium.
“I’m here because I have to be here,” Kidd told reporters. “I already gave up money, so I don’t want to give up anymore. So no questions. We’ll go back and look at the tape and see how we can get better. They were the better team tonight, and we’ll go from there.
“Thanks for showing up.”
That was it for the Mavs coach, who fulfilled his media obligations in the briefest of manners.
The ejections both took place with 2:00 left in the third quarter and the Timberwolves leading 85-71. Doncic protested a no-call when he thought he was fouled on a shot. Whatever he said prompted not one, but two quick whistles from referee Rodney Mott, who’s been here before with Doncic.
With the Mavs trailing by 14 and his star guard gone, Kidd took the opportunity to give officials an earful. He earned his own ejection with two technicals from referee Nick Buchert.
Doncic, of course, is no stranger to drawing technical fouls. He was second in the league with 18 last season and is among the league leaders again in 2022-23. Even Doncic has acknowledged that he complains too much to officials.
Mott has ejected Doncic before and clearly has no patience for his grievances. Doncic, unsurprisingly, didn’t agree with Mott’s decision. But even he believes he deserved the first whistle.
“I probably deserved the one, but two for sure no,” Doncic told reporters. “I deserved the first one, I’m not gonna lie. But for sure not the second one. I was really shocked when I was ejected.
“It was confusing. I don’t even know what was going on. Then I heard that I got ejected, I was like ‘that was a surprise.’ So I just smiled.”
While a problem, the ejections aren’t the top concern for the Mavericks. They entered the season with hopes of making a jump in the Western Conference standings. Monday’s loss was their 10th in 16 games and dropped the Mavericks below .500 at 15-16. That was good for 10th place in the West on Monday.