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Did Luka Dončić really have Suns fan ejected for telling him to get on treadmill? Fact checking controversial claim
Luka Dončić's alleged ejection of a Suns fan over a treadmill comment sparked a controversy. Here's a fact-check on the viral claim.
The Phoenix Suns faced the Dallas Mavericks in Texas on a Wednesday evening. The Mavs led the game in the opening 17 minutes, yet the Suns astonishingly rebounded, closing the gap to a single point before halftime.
They seized the opportunity to turn the tide in the third quarter, scoring 43-23 and smashing the game wide open. The final score was a victory for the Phoenix Suns, 132-109.
Drama arose during the second half when a fan was expelled for berating All-Star Luka Dončić, the star player of the Dallas Mavericks.
As his team was spiraling towards a stinging 132-109 loss, trailing the Suns disastrously, Dončić signaled to security to escort the heckler from the court.
ESPN's Tim Mac, the spectator’s offending remark: "Luka, you're tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!"
Ironically, Dončić will consider himself fortunate if that was the harshest criticism he bears this season, especially since it's a well-worn insult about his fitness.
The fan's abuse had been ongoing since the first half, it may not have been the fiercest slight he'd received during this game. The "tired" comment was merely the final blow.
When questioned later, Dončić disclosed, "He was cursing me the whole first half, too. I never would eject a fan. They pay for tickets. But I had enough, it's a little bit of frustration.”
Mavericks' tough loss to Suns without Kyrie Irving
Dončić, shouldering the team without his co-star Kyrie Irving, notched up 34 points from 24 attempts, dished out nine assists, hauled down eight rebounds, and suffered five turnovers.
At one point, the Mavericks looked like they would break the Suns' winning spree of six games, only for the Suns' ace Devin Booker to reignite in the third quarter, single-handedly piling more points (22) than the Mavericks (20).
The teams switched places by the third quarter, with the Suns surging 25 points ahead from a single-point deficit at halftime.
The game grew feisty, observing first-quarter technical fouls for the Mavericks' Grant Williams and the Suns' Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic over a shove-off.
Further, Doncic earned a technical for his incessant grouses to the referees by the second quarter's close.
The defeat shifts the Mavericks to the season's 24-20, placing them eighth in the Western Conference.
While maintaining a 2.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers for a preferred play-in game spot, they trail the sixth-placed New Orleans Pelicans by two games for direct playoff qualification.
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