“I deserved the first one, and I’m not going to lie”

A bad experience Mavericks The stretch was made worse by Jason Kidd, head coach, and the star guard Luka Doncic Both were ejected in a 116-106 loss To the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kidd was clearly upset after the game but still bit his tongue at the podium.

Kidd said to reporters, “I’m here because it is necessary for me to be here.” “I’ve already given up money so I don’t want to lose any more. So no questions. We will go back to the tape and examine it again to see if we can improve. We’ll continue to improve on their performance tonight.

“Thanks for being here.”

The Mavericks coach was done. He fulfilled his media obligations in a very brief manner.

Both the ejections occurred with just 2:00 remaining in the third period and the Timberwolves leading 85-71. Doncic protested that he was fouled during a shot and demanded a no-call. Rodney Mott was familiar with Doncic’s situation and gave Doncic two quick whistles.

Jason Kidd was trailing the Mavs by 14 with his star guard absent, and took the opportunity of the situation to speak up for officials. With two technicals from Nick Buchert, Kidd earned his own expulsion.

Doncic is not afraid to draw technical fouls. He was second in the league with 18 Last season and is among the league leaders Again in 2022-23. Even Doncic has acknowledged He complains too much For officials.

Mott has ejected Doncic before He clearly doesn’t have patience for his grievances. Mott’s decision wasn’t shared by Doncic. However, even Doncic believes he got the first whistle.

Doncic stated to reporters that he probably deserved the first, but that he deserved two. “I deserved it, and I won’t lie. It’s not the second. I was truly shocked when I was ejected.

“It was confusing. I didn’t know what was happening. When I found out that I had been ejected, it was a surprise to me. I smiled, and then I heard that I was being ejected.

Although ejections can be a concern, they aren’t the main concern of the Mavericks at the moment. They were hoping to jump up the Western Conference standings this season. Monday’s loss, their 10th in 16 matches, dropped the Mavericks to below.500 at 15-16. This was good enough for 10th in the West on Monday.