Luka Doncic questioned officiating after fouling out in NBA Finals Game 3

One of the defining moments of the Celtics‘ 106-99 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals came with 4:12 remaining in the fourth quarter when Mavericks star Luka Doncic surprisingly fouled out.

Without the 25-year-old Slovenian superstar, Dallas was unable to complete a late comeback attempt and Boston took a 3-0 series lead.

It was the first time that Doncic has fouled this entire season (and only the third of his NBA career), though his choice to try and draw a charge on the three-point while already carrying five fouls may invite scrutiny. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown sensed opportunity and stayed aggressive, attacking Doncic and forcing him to make a defensive decision.

The result was a sixth foul:

The call was challenged by Dallas and received a protracted review, but the personal foul was upheld.

“Replay has determined that Doncic had not established a legal guarding position in the path of Brown,” said referee Marc Davis. “There is no clear and conclusive evidence to change it. The call on the floor stands.”

Even without Doncic, Dallas fought back to close Boston’s lead to just two points (100-98) with 1:20 remaining. But Brown’s clutch 20-foot jump shot pushed the Celtics’ lead back out to four (and a two-possession game), and Boston never looked back.

After the game, Doncic was asked about the foul calls that went against him.

“I mean, I don’t know. We couldn’t play physical so, I don’t know. I don’t want to say nothing but [a] sixth foul in the NBA Finals when I basically am like this?” Doncic said, gesturing as though he was standing still. “Come on, man, better than that.”

Has he ever been called for four fouls so quickly in the fourth quarter, as happened in Game 3?

“Not really. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me,” Doncic replied.

One dynamic in the series has been Celtic efforts to attack Doncic defensively, with Brown’s aggressiveness on Doncic’s final foul emblematic of Boston’s larger strategy.

The Celtics took advantage throughout the game, including one particular situation in the first quarter when Doncic was delayed in getting back on defense because he was yelling at the referee over what he perceived to be a missed call on the other end of the floor.

Jayson Tatum promptly found the open player Doncic wasn’t guarding, and Sam Hauser drilled a three-pointer. ESPN commentator Doris Burke called out Doncic’s lack of defense.

“A moment where Luka takes a minute to bark at the officials, doesn’t sprint in transition and you’re playing 5-on-4,” Burke remarked after the sequence.

Admitting that he’s “got to be better” defensively, Doncic then took another opportunity to criticize the officiating.

“Every time they drew it, [referees] basically called a foul,” Doncic said of the Celtics’ matching him up defensively. “So I’ll try to be better.”

Now down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, Doncic and the Mavericks face a daunting climb to get out of the current hole. Dallas will now play Game 4 on Friday at home with its season on the line.

“It’s not over till it’s over,” Doncic said. “We’ve just got to believe. Like I always say, it’s first to four [wins]. We’ve got to stay together.”