Doncic fined $35K for money reference gesture

DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official,” the NBA announced Friday.

Doncic rubbed his fingers together, in an apparent reference to money, while staring down a referee with 1.7 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Doncic, who expressed frustration with several no-calls on his drives to the basket during the loss, was not assessed a technical foul for the gesture. He has 15 technical fouls this season, one shy of an automatic one-game suspension.

Mavericks governor Mark Cuban told ESPN that the team has notified the league that it is protesting the loss after confusion over which team had possession of the ball led to an uncontested dunk for Golden State late in the third quarter. The Mavericks must provide evidence to support their protest within five days of the conclusion of the game.

Coming out of a timeout, Warriors center Kevon Looney had a free dunk on an inbounds play with 1: 56 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks, believing they had possession, were lined up on their offensive end of the court, which Cuban attributed to an officiating error.