For the second time this season, Luka Doncic received his 16th technical foul, putting him on the sideline for one game. Last time, the league office did revoke that decision, but this time, there is no such support for the Los Angeles Lakers guard. A financial loss is looming amid the current MVP battle, where he has lost some ground.

James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, announced that “Luka Doncic has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul.” The Slovenian will have to pay a $317,000 fine and will miss the game against the Washington Wizards on March 30.

The incident occurred during the Lakers’ 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on March 27. With 5:12 remaining in the third frame, video evidence showed that Doncic pushed Williams after he came to celebrate, and Williams retaliated by swiping back at Doncic’s face. Initially, the Lakers guard’s push got him an offensive foul. But crew chief Sean Wright assessed both a tech. Pleading his innocence, the Slovenian vented to the media post-game.

“He [yelled] in my face three times,” Luka Doncic explained. “I just wanted to get out of there. It’s a double tech, of course. What can I say? I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed. My push was exaggerated, which was obviously not. And I don’t know what else to tell you.” Backing his case was the head coach, who was sure they would appeal the decision.

“I’m sure we will appeal it,” said JJ Redick, and also questioned if the tech was warranted. “I’m not sure; I didn’t see what happened.” Unlike the last decision, the league rescinded his punishment after the Lakers appealed.

Back then, he picked up his 16th technical foul in a heated war of words with Orlando Magic star Goga Bitadze, which was eventually overturned.

But this time, the Lakers’ efforts failed despite the 27-year-old pleading his case. It seems like the support for the 6x All-Star is diminishing at the wrong time.

Luka Doncic’s MVP case takes another hit

The strange thing is, Doncic’s numbers have been nothing short of spectacular. Last week, the Slovenian rose to the number two spot in the MVP rankings. And since then, he has had two 30-point games and two 40-point games. But here’s the paradox — despite averaging 38.7 points over his last 15 games, shooting nearly 40% from beyond the arc, and winning back-to-back Player of the Week honors in March, his standing in the MVP race has fallen to fourth. The better he plays, it seems, the further he slides.

That’s why Luka Doncic took a jab at this decision. “Yeah, hopefully, but the better I play, the more I go down in ratings, so I don’t know what more I can do.” The Slovenian said about possibly winning the elusive trophy for the first time in his career.

While the MVP picture gets murkier for him, he is still etching his name into Lakers history. Only 4 Lakers players have scored 30+ points in 12+ consecutive games. Luka Doncic joined the list featuring Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West. His confirmed absence against the Wizards means he will have one less game to turn his doubters into believers.