Chicago Bulls youngster Matas Buzelis learned the hard way not to poke the Slovenian bear named Luka Doncic.
The Los Angeles Lakers star erupted for 51 points on Thursday in a 142-130 win over Buzelis’ Bulls at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. Doncic was deadly from the field that evening, scoring at a 17/31 clip with 9 threes and just 8 made free throws.
After the game, Doncic was asked when he started feeling like he was going to have a big scoring night. He pointed to a moment in the second quarter when Buzelis sent some “not very nice” words his way.
“Somebody started talking to me, so that woke me up. Matas Buzelis. I was surprised and shocked. I’m not gonna say what he said, but if I said that, I would definitely get a tech,” Doncic told reporters.
Buzelis looked like he had been through hell after the game as reporters spoke to him in the Bulls’ locker room. One media member asked what his takeaway from the contest was.
“Ummm, probably not to talk to him,” Buzelis said with a pained look on his face, as if every Doncic bucket were replaying in his head as he responded.
“What do you hope to take away from the experience?”
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) March 13, 2026
Buzelis: Umm prolly not to talk to him
Luka traumatized him. 💀😭 pic.twitter.com/2uosN4y8QH
Doncic certainly has that thin-skinned DNA that some of the all-time greats have. Michael Jordan famously turned every perceived slight into motivation to crush opponents, and Luka appears to be cut from that same cloth.
Buzelis had a decent night himself, finishing with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. But he’ll probably lay off the trash talk whenever Doncic comes to town, else he risks becoming the reason behind the NBA’s next 80-point night.
