NBA Makes U-Turn on Controversial Luka Doncic Decision After Lakers vs. Heat

The Los Angeles Lakers' 138-117 Monday night victory over the Miami Heat featured many highlights, ranging from Luka Doncic having another big performance to his nearly earning his second tech of the game, which was saved by Austin Reaves’ timely effort. But now, the league has finally looked back and revised a decision that probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“Luka Doncic’s (LAL) technical foul at 1:12 in the 2nd quarter on 11/2/26 (vs. MIA) has been rescinded upon league office review,” the NBA Official announced on X on November 3.

Going back to the game, with 1:12 remaining in the second quarter, the Slovenian star received a technical foul for clapping at referee Jacyn Goble’s no-call decision. Both teams were few points apart from being equals on the scoreboard, with Doncic already having 24 under his name. This immediate whistle over some hurt feelings allowed the Heat to take the charity stripe.

“I clapped. That’s a technical?! Come on now, if it was anybody else, you know it’s not a technical,” he could be seen mouthing. But the situation didn’t end there.

The tension resurfaced when the Lakers’ guard tried to show a referee his bleeding mouth following contact in the third quarter with 10:42 remaining. But Reaves had to swiftly cut Doncic’s path to prevent him from reaching the referee. We have already seen how easy it becomes to assess techs at certain times and against certain players, and with one technical already on his record, a second would have meant an automatic ejection.

The Lakers had a pretty comfortable lead by then, and Doncic’s absence would’ve hurt them against a team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Although Doncic walked out with 42 points, 13 assists, and 7 rebounds, last night’s game also left him with two techs.

The first one came in a game against the Golden State Warriors earlier this week. The Lakers star had to pay a $2000 fine for that.

So, having his latest tech rescinded indeed means a great deal to the Purple and Gold. However, this incident altogether again demanded attention to the league’s ongoing officiating issues: inconsistent calling, assessing big punishments for small or no mistakes, while allowing many players to get away with similar or worse behavior.

The 6-2 Lakers will next go against the Sacramento Kings on November 4, with one less tech on Doncic’s season total, after following a no-game schedule on Election Day. But issues of his stardom working against him might repeat, which calls for extra precaution from both the player and his team.