You can hear the fan gasp as Luka Doncic hurls his insult and it’s clear that he was not expecting such an aggressive response. Nonetheless, that’s what he got and it shows us just how frustrated Doncic was feeling last night.

Luka, 25,  was obviously provoked before the camera started rolling, and it seems that the moment we are seeing is him at the end of his rope. By this point, the game was getting out of hand and Luka was fighting in vain to save his season. The last thing he wanted to hear was more noise from the same group of people who had been disrespecting his teammate all series long.

During five games of being abused by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the court, he had to endure constant vitriol from the fans and it clearly got under his skin before the end. Looking back, however, this may be something he comes to regret as many people have spoken out against the behavior.

On X, the 33.9 point-per-game scorer was torched by the people for failing to control his temper and seemingly taking out his frustrations on those who were rooting for the enemy team. There were also some who defended his actions and maintained that he has every right to fire back against anyone who speaks up in the middle of a game.

Cavaliers Coach Says Doncic Was Playing Through Pain

One of the reasons for Doncic’s short temper could actually be a physical injury. It’s no secret that he hasn’t been in perfect condition in this series as he’s dealt with various conditions including a knee sprain, sore ankle, and a thoracic contusion. He eventually had to take shots to kill the pain so he could come out and play at his best.

After being sent home this week, Doncic will finally get to rest and heal his body as he prepares for next year. In the meantime, he got some credit from Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff for playing through the pain and enduring discomfort in the pursuit of a championship.

“This is the guy that was taking shots in his ribs so that he could go out and play, right? He was playing through pain. He wasn’t complaining. He was still playing 40-plus minutes, trying to go out and get it done.”

Doncic has been getting scrutinized by everyone for losing control of his emotions but it’s a miracle that he was even out there at all. Despite the discomfort, he did his best to carry on and lead his team to a title with averages of 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.6 steals per game.

Even though they failed to win two games against the Celtics, we have every reason to believe that the Mavericks will be back in full force next season. At the very least, Luka Doncic will ensure that his tea will be in contention once again, keeping pace with the elites in the Western Conference.