Lakers’ Luka Doncic suspended for 1 game by NBA after his 16th technical foul

NEW YORK (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for receiving his 16th technical foul of the season, the league announced Saturday.

Doncic, the NBA's scoring leader, got whistled for a double technical foul during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over Brooklyn on Friday night.

The Nets’ Ziaire Williams was celebrating an offensive foul called against Doncic by gleefully screaming in Doncic’s personal space. When Doncic reached out to push Williams’ arm, Williams responded with a backhand swipe across Doncic’s face.

Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game when he receives his 16th technical foul during the regular season. For every two additional technical fouls during that regular season, they will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.

Doncic, who scored 41 points against Brooklyn, will serve his suspension on Monday when the Lakers host the Washington Wizards.

“He was yelling in my face three times,” Doncic said after the game. “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. (The referee) said my push was exaggerated, which (it) was obviously not. I don’t know what else to say.”

Officials reviewed the incident before issuing technical fouls to both players.

Doncic already had a technical rescinded last week after he was whistled for a verbal altercation with Orlando’s Goga Bitadze. The league didn’t announce why it was rescinded, but Doncic said Bitadze insulted his family in Serbian — and Bitadze denied it.

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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives past Indiana Pacers guard Kobe Brown (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) argues a call during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

HOUSTON (AP) — A buzzer malfunction caused a delay — a very loud, very unpleasant delay — of about 10 minutes in the first half of the NCAA Tournament's South Region final between Iowa and Illinois on Saturday night.

When the buzzer sounded out of a media timeout with 7:43 left in the first half, it kept blaring uninterrupted for about seven minutes. Players stood on the court ready to play for a couple of minutes before both teams started to warm up as the buzzer continued to sound.

It was finally silenced, to cheers from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and video screen that hangs over the middle of the court went dark.

The game ultimately resumed with the big scoreboard still off. Two smaller scoreboards at each end of the arena were working.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Illinois coach Brad Underwood listens to an official during a timeout to fix a broken horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game against Iowa in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A referee talks with the scorer's table during an official's timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)