Luka Doncic’s frustration spilled into his postgame press conference after a blowout loss to the Suns on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks star, who was called for his eighth technical foul this season, got into a fiery back-and-forth with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon while explaining why he had security remove a heckling Suns fan during the third quarter at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
“That wasn’t the only thing he [the fan], said, but I knew you would be the first one to… put out something like that,” Doncic said, adding that he would not repeat what the fan yelled.
“It’s just funny, you always seem to be the first one to put out bad stuff about me.”
Doncic took issue with MacMahon reporting on the incident in a post on X, claiming the fan — who was “sitting two rows behind [the] midcourt press row” — shouted: “Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!”
MacMahon disagreed with Doncic.
“Luka, first of all, 99 percent of the stuff I’ve written about you has been good,” he said.
“Second of all, the guy was sitting two rows behind us.”
When Doncic asked if that was the first time MacMahon heard the heckler shouting at him, the reporter said, “That was the one you reacted to. He was definitely hollering all game.”
Doncic also claimed the fan was “cursing me out” during the “whole first half” of the Suns’ 132-109 win.
When asked why he didn’t have the fan ejected during the first half, Doncic said: “Because I never would eject a fan. They paid for tickets, but I had enough. It’s a little bit of frustration.”
Doncic was walking up the court when he stopped and stared in the direction of the press row, as seen in a video of the incident posted by Duane Rankin of The Arizona Central.
Rankin also reported that the fan called Doncic “tired” and said to “get on the treadmill.”
Doncic then waved toward the Mavericks’ vice president of security, Brian Kinzig, and arena staff removed the heckler.
MacMahon also posted a video of the Suns fan exiting his seat.
Booker saw the Suns fan’s interaction with Doncic on social media after the game, according to ESPN, and “grinned” when he saw the man wearing his No. 1 jersey.
“I appreciate the support,” said Booker, who led the Suns with 46 points (17-of-23 shooting, 6-of-10 from three), seven rebounds, and three assists. “I don’t know what he said. I hope he didn’t cross too many lines, and I’ll be getting his information. If you can find it, let me know.”
When asked if he intends to give the fan free tickets to a Suns game, Booker explained that it “depends on the situation,” adding that he has a history with Dallas.
“I hope what he did wasn’t too disrespectful, but I know in these crowded environments — we played a playoff series here — I’ve heard countless numbers of things,” Booker told ESPN.
“You usually don’t hear it at home. I’m sure that was a different thing for Luka, but it’s part of the game. I usually don’t let what I hear bother me.”
The history dates back to when Dallas beat Phoenix in the 2021 Western Conference semifinals.
Doncic, who finished with 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, was called for a technical for his second straight game while limping to the locker room after he “twisted” his right ankle.
“He had complained multiple times and was asked to stop prior to that,” crew chief David Guthrie told a pool reporter, per ESPN
“He did not stop but continued his complaining, and again as he was leaving the floor at halftime he yelled and complained at the officials again.”
The Mavericks (24-20) play the Hawks (18-26) in Atlanta on Friday.
