Luka Doncic may have led the Los Angeles Lakers to a win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, but it was a familiar gesture of frustration toward the officials that quickly grabbed fans’ attention and could potentially draw scrutiny from the league. The Slovenian star delivered a standout performance at Crypto.com Arena, yet the moment that sparked online debate came during an exchange with referees as emotions ran high.

On the court, Doncic was once again the driving force behind the Lakers’ 110–97 victory. Despite the absence of LeBron James, the hosts secured their second straight win at Crypto.com Arena, with Austin Reaves also making a strong impact alongside the Slovenian guard.

Doncic finished with 35 points in 38 minutes, adding eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 11-of-25 from the field. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the scoring with 24 points each, while OG Anunoby and Josh Hart struggled to keep pace with the Lakers’ offense.

Despite his dominance this afternoon, Doncic did give away six turnovers.

One of those turnovers saw him hand the ball directly to former LA Clippers man Landry Shamet. The latter charged up the court and made quick play, passing the ball to teammate Mohamed Diawara, who dunked over Doncic with 4:34 left on the clock in the 3rd quarter. In doing so, Diawara caught the European in the chest as he flew across the floor.

As has been the case for most of his career. Luka immediately stared down the officials, expecting to get a technical foul. But to his dismay, his efforts were futile, which left him annoyed (as is usually the case). However, Doncic instinctively threw up a controversial ‘money’ sign with his fingers following the incident (as he’s done in the past), which could see him get in some trouble.

Luka Doncic Risks Sanctions After On-Field Theatrics

NBA fans were quick to catch on to Doncic’s antics, and, as is normally the case, they did not hold back when it came to criticism. The 27-year-old did something similar in March 2023 when he was still with the Dallas Mavericks.

The league later slapped him with a $35,000 sanction for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official.”

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Perhaps Doncic’s prior experience in this regard prevented him from exaggerating the gesture this time. One fan was quick to highlight that as he went “Lol he thought abt dat last technical as soon as he did it.” But another user on X blatantly came out and asserted, “he definitely getting fined”.

Minnesota Timberwolves star and fellow European hooper Rudy Gobert also has some unfortunate experience in this regard. The Frenchman was fined $100,000 by the NBA for a money gesture toward referee Scott Foster during the Timberwolves’ 113-104 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. One fan thought something similar could be on the cards for Doncic following his latest brush with the officials, saying, “bye bye $100k.”

Another fan was quick to suggest that league officials’ leniency towards the Lakers and Doncic means he will likely get away with his latest tantrum. “He does this like every game and never gets fined but if a Clipper says a single curse word they’re suspended 600 games”. We suspect their bias towards the Clippers might play a role in this opinion, but either way, they do have a valid point.

Luka’s constant complaining and harassment of refs have long been a topic of discussion among analysts and fans. One Timberwolves fan, however, did side with Luka Doncic, claiming Diawara’s actions were a bit too aggressive and that it should have been a technical, “I rarely agree with Luka but this was fasho a charge”.

However, one X user had the funniest reply claiming Luka’s gesture was not a ‘money’ signal to the refs but rather “Slovenian for good luck”. Well, if that is true, then Doncic did make the right gesture.

Because ‘Lady Luck’ is something the Lakers need as we approach April. Sunday’s win keeps them at 5th in the Western Conference standings, tied with the Denver Nuggets (39-25).

JJ Redick’s team is 6-4 in their last 10. They welcome the in-form Ant Edwards & Co. on Tuesday as they look to build on that winning streak and climb up the league standings. ‘King James’ is set to make a return to the team in the coming weeks, but LA seems to be doing just fine without him. Either way, Doncic needs to be mindful of these actions if he wants to avoid additional hurdles as the playoffs approach.