A hilarious scene unfolded in the first quarter of Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Luka Doncic was seen asking for the ball from a Thunder fan after it had gone out of bounds, but instead of giving it to the Mavs star, the individual just threw it away.
I think Doncic's reaction there is the best part of that clip. The 25-year-old was just so disappointed by an act that I'm almost certain he considered very childish. With the clip going viral, this fan actually shared his side of the story too.
He is a Thunder superfan named Juan Guerra II and thinks the whole situation was blown out of proportion. Guerra pointed out that he never even looked up.
It is true that he never looked up, but Guerra obviously would have still known that a Mavericks player was standing right in front of him there. Maybe he didn't realize it was Doncic, but it seems like he was just being a bit petty by throwing the ball away.
After the incident occurred, some fans felt that Guerra poked the bear and that Doncic was now going to put on a show. That wasn't what happened, though. The five-time All-Star had a rough night, finishing the contest with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals while going 6-19 from the field and 1-8 from beyond the arc.
With Doncic struggling, the Thunder blew out the Mavericks 117-95 to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It is far too early to press the panic button, though, and I would expect a much better showing from Dallas in Game 2.
The Fan Also Exchanged Words With Kyrie Irving And Got A Warning Card
While we saw Doncic's disappointed reaction to this incident, it seems the broadcast didn't show how Kyrie Irving reacted. Irving allegedly flung the ball at Guerra and the two exchanged words. Soon after, the fan got a warning card.
"Two minutes into the game & Kyrie Irving soft self already got me one of these because he threw the ball back at when me I tossed it at the ref who went the other way. We in his skin already."
"Two minutes in. lol. It y’all know me, I’m the most respectful person ever. Kyrie ran his mouth and I get this lol. Soft."
After the game ended, Guerra elaborated on what went down between him and Irving.
"It was really soft," Guerra said. "The ball got thrown at me... I tossed it to Tony Brothers who took off running the other way. Kyrie grabbed the ball and threw the ball back at us like really hard like he was bowling. And he walked over and said, 'What the f--- are you thinking?' And I told him I was giving the ball back to Taylor and he said it again and I was like, 'It's too early in the game to be this soft.'"
With Guerra apparently having never missed a Thunder home game, except for the 2020-21 season when fans weren't allowed to go to the games, he should be present for Game 2. I certainly hope we don't get another incident along these lines on Thursday.
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