Watch: Dillon Brooks amused as Luka Doncic receives technical foul during Rockets vs Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been given his fair share of technical fouls throughout his career for yelling at refs and complaining about foul calls. He was given another in the Mavs game on Sunday against the Houston Rockets.
Doncic was hit with a technical foul after celebrating getting a call. The tech was given near the end of the first quarter as the Rockets were dominating the Slovenian point guard and the Mavs 41-25.
After Doncic was hit with the tech, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks started clapping. Brooks, always the on-court troll, was loving the technical for Doncic. He also loved seeing the MVP candidate get mad, as Brooks is known to do.
The scene was amusing, as Doncic was dumbfounded by the call, with Brooks loving every second of it. The 6-foot-7 guard was likely frustrated after the Mavs' slow start to the game and the hot start by Houston and laughed off the technical foul call in disbelief.
The tech was Doncic’s 14th of the season. He is nearing his career high of 15, which he has achieved in the three previous seasons. Sixteen technical fouls result in an automatic one-game suspension.
Can Luka Doncic win MVP?
Luka Doncic has long been an MVP candidate. However, he is always overshadowed in the end or falls out of the race. This season, he has stayed in the top group, but it still may not be enough.
The five-time NBA All-Star is second on most sites in MVP odds. He is 20/1 to win the award, moving ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the OKC Thunder star got hurt.
Nikola Jokic is the favorite to win his third MVP. He is -4000 to claim the award on DraftKings, and anyone else winning the award would be a stunner.
Luka Doncic has played up to MVP levels this season, even if he does not win the hardware. He is averaging 33.8 points per game, which leads the league. He would beat his previous career high of 32.4 ppg, set two seasons ago.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year is also second in the league in assists with 9.8 per game (a career-high). He is nearly averaging a triple-double with 9.2 rebounds per game (16th in the NBA). He is near his career high of 9.4 rpg for a season.
Luka Doncic has kept up solid shooting numbers as well. He is hitting 48.6% from the field, 38.2% from 3-point range and 78.3% from the free throw line.
He has led the Mavericks into the top five of the West. They hold a two-game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans in seventh and seem poised to avoid the play-in after missing the postseason entirely last season.