The NBA is admitting that a technical foul called in Saturday’s NBA Cup game was much ado about nothing,
The league announced Monday that they have decided to rescind a T that was called on Oklahoma City Thunder swingman Luguentz Dort in the NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Houston Rockets. A subsequent review by the league office determined that Dort’s actions did not actually meet the criteria for a technical foul.
Dort hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of OKC’s 111-96 win over the Rockets. He put up three fingers in celebration of the shot and was promptly called for a technical foul. While the referees may have thought that he was doing some sort of gun taunt, it looks like Dort was actually just trying to signify a three-point basket.
Lu Dort gets a technical foul for celebrating a three pointer last night.
Just NBA refs things…@sorokman @idogur pic.twitter.com/Q4FbNqFc7n— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 15, 2024
The 25-year-old Dort scored 19 points on the night off five three-pointers to help the Thunder get the victory. They will now face the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
While the refereeing continues to be up and down this season, the league office has at least been doing a decent job with their retroactive reviews of technical fouls. A few weeks ago, Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook was also called for a bizarre technical foul that was later rescinded by the NBA upon review.
