Luka Dončić says officiating ‘wasn’t fair’ in loss to Nets

Getting played very physically yet only going to the line a couple of times, Luka Dončić felt the calls were suspect against the Nets.

In the Lakers’ loss to the Nets, the Nets had a clear strategy to play physical.

Luka Dončić, in particular, was being played very physically. It was a lot more than just blitzing him or making sure he was doubled at every opportunity. He was constantly hand-checked and bumped at every opportunity.

His frustrations eventually got the better of him as he was called for a tech in the third quarter. After the game, he was careful with his words but made it clear he was unsatisfied with the officiating.

“In the end, it was a lot,” Luka said. “It wasn’t fair. But, we have to play the game. I have to keep playing the game. But it was a lot, man.”

With LeBron out, Luka will be on-ball even more, and teams will likely take the Nets' approach and be as physical as they are allowed to be.

So far, the whistle has not been kind to Lakers Luka, as he is drawing fewer calls than he did earlier this year as a Maverick. In Dallas, he was averaging 5.7 personal fouls drawn, and in LA, he’s down to 5.3.

Against the Nets, he made only a few trips to the charity stripe and didn’t earn a foul call until the third quarter, despite literally getting pushed on possessions where he wasn’t even making a play on the ball.

When he finally heard the whistle in the third quarter, he raised his arm triumphantly, and the road crowd cheered, knowing how the game had been officiated.

“I think everybody saw the game, Luka said postgame. “They know what happened.”

It wasn’t just Luka who wasn’t getting a kind whistle. The raw numbers immediately stand out as the Nets took 30 free throws while the Lakers took 19.

It’s hard to explain why the Lakers weren’t getting any foul calls. Both teams were equally aggressive, driving to the paint and scoring 36 points inside.

The first half free throw numbers were particularly jarring, with the Lakers only taking two attempts compared to Brooklyn’s 16.

Austin Reaves was the only Laker finding his way to the line, taking 11 of the team’s 19 attempts on Monday, and postgame, he spoke about the frustration in the officiating.

“It is frustrating when you think you’re getting fouled and you’re not getting to the free throw line,” Reaves said. “They got to the free throw line, I think, 12 more times than we did. But there’s a million different things that we should have done better to win that game.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t do any of them. But yeah, not getting calls that you think you should get is frustrating and not making shots is frustrating. You have to be able to flip the page from that and lock into something else to help the team.”

All players want is consistency in the calls. It certainly felt like the Nets could get away with a bit more physicality, and in a one-possession game, all those details matter.

Reaves is right, though. You have to take it in stride, and the Lakers should’ve still won this game. All they can do now is regroup, and hopefully, the Lakers are talking with the NBA and getting clarification on why certain plays weren’t called fouls.

Because while this game is over and done with, opposing teams will likely take on this hack-a-Luka tactic as far as the referees allow them to.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.