The Los Angeles Lakers suffered one of their worse defeats of the Luka Doncic era in a 111-108 road loss to the lottery pick-bound Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
Doncic put up a triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) and the Lakers jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but Los Angeles couldn’t contain a feisty Nets squad that clawed their way back into the game. The Lakers were without four of their regular rotation players including star LeBron James, who’s expected to miss one to two weeks with a groin injury.
Doncic, who shot just 8-of-26 from the field, took ownership for his team’s loss after the game. When asked about the overall physicality and the state of officiating, though, the Slovenian star appeared to make some pointed comment directed at the refs.
“At the end of the day, it was a lot,” Doncic told reporters. “It wasn’t fair, but you know, just gotta play the game. I gotta keep playing the game. But it was a lot, man, I’m not gonna lie.”
When prodded about his “unfair” comment, Doncic declined to elaborate.
“I’m not gonna say anything, but everyone saw the game so they know what happened,” Doncic said.
Doncic went to the free-throw line just twice in Monday’s loss and could be seen complaining to the refs about what he believed were missed calls all throughout the game.
The Lakers have now dropped two consecutive games and currently own the No. 3 seed in the West with a 40-23 record.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic Seemed to Criticize the Refs After Lakers’ Short-Handed Loss to Nets.
