The Golden State Warriors appeared to have a smoother path to the No. 3 overall seed, but the NBA’s decision to change course on Luka Doncic’s punishment means it won’t be such an easy finish for Golden State.
Doncic had picked up his 16th technical foul in the Dallas Mavericks’ blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, which meant an automatic one-game suspension that would have been served in the season finale. That would have given the Warriors a hand-up in trying to clinch the No. 3 seed and keep Dallas at No. 4, but the NBA decided on Saturday to go back on the punishment.
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Doncic’s Punishment Lifted
Doncic had originally picked up a technical foul at the end of the first quarter, when he heaved a half-court shot as time was expiring and then complained that he was fouled. As Doncic continued to plead his case to veteran referee Tony Brothers, he was assessed a technical foul.
Because it was Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the season, it would have meant he was suspended for Dallas’ season finale against the San Antonio Spurs. If the Warriors were to lose one of their final two games and Dallas wins on Sunday against the Spurs, the Mavericks would move into the No. 3 spot.
He will be suspended for Mavs’ season finale
But as CBS Sports reported, the league went back on the decision, rescinding the technical foul on Saturday and leaving Doncic eligible for Sunday’s game. Doncic had already complained after Friday’s game that he thought his actions didn’t warrant a technical foul, and the NBA apparently agreed.
“I asked him, ‘How is that not a foul? How is that not a foul?'” Doncic said of his conversation with Brothers, via ESPN. “He T’d me up. That’s unfair. That’s unfair.”
Warriors Excited to Start Playoffs
After a slump that lasted throughout the month of March, the Warriors have righted the ship as the playoffs approach, winning three straight games to clinch a playoff berth and home court in the first round. The Warriors had missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, with last year’s campaign ending with two losses in the newly instituted play-in tournament.
They came all the way back to get the W and clinch a spot in the playoffs 🙌
But Warriors veteran Draymond Green said this year feels different, with teams fearing Golden State just as they did during the team’s five-year run to the NBA Finals.
“No, I definitely don’t think [the fear] is gone because I played the first, what 33, 34 games of the year — maybe I missed a couple here and there — but for the most part I played and I saw that fear,” Green said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I saw it come right back when everybody was like, ‘Oh, they’re good again. Oh, we’ve got to deal with these guys again.’ I saw that fear, so I don’t necessarily think it’s gone. I think teams are able to get by that when you’re not healthy.”
The Warriors are still not fully healthy, awaiting the return of Steph Curry from a foot injury that has kept him out since March 17. He is expected to be back for the playoffs, which would put the veteran core of Green, Curry, and Klay Thompson on the court together for the first extended stretch in more than two years.
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NBA’s Abrupt Reversal on Luka Doncic Could Be Bad News for Warriors