When Luka Doncic was ejected from the Lakers’ showdown with the NBA-leading Thunder, Los Angeles was up 108-107 with 7:40 left in the game. From that point on, Oklahoma City outscored Los Angeles 29-12 for a 136-120 win on Tuesday night.
Doncic scored 23 points before leaving the game in the fourth quarter following his second technical foul. The Lakers guard appeared to yell at a fan, though the officials didn’t see it that way.
Crew chief Tony Brothers told reporters after the game that Doncic “looked directly at an official and used vulgar language.”
In his postgame press conference, Doncic maintained that his actions had “nothing to do with the refs.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points, and Jalen Williams added 26 points for the Thunder, who bounced back from a 126-99 loss to the Lakers on Sunday.
Oklahoma City (65-14) inched closer to clinching the best record in the league and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. The Thunder have a two-game lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers with three games remaining. The team set a single-season franchise record for victories, surpassing the 1995-96 Seattle squad that went 64-18.
LeBron James scored 28 points and Austin Reaves added 24 for the Lakers.
Los Angeles is at Dallas on Wednesday in Doncic’s first game against the Mavericks since being traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis on Feb. 2.
The Thunder led 80-72 at halftime after shooting 64.7% from the field. It matched the fourth-highest point total for an Oklahoma City team in a half.
The Lakers rallied, and a deep 3-pointer by Doncic put the Lakers ahead 88-86 with about five minutes left in the third. The Lakers took a 98-97 lead into the fourth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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