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Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert exchange unpleasantries — during and after Mavs’ win over Jazz

Utah center Gobert said that Doncic ‘tried to bait me’ and that players on the Mavs bench said things that disrespected Jazz players as men.

Two weeks ago in Salt Lake City, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic found themselves isolated one-on-one in several late-game possessions that proved decisive in Utah’s five-point victory.

Monday night at the American Airlines Center, as Doncic led the Mavericks to an eight-point win over the Jazz, he and Gobert got into a heated exchange at the end of the first half — and the unpleasantries continued after the game in the teams’ respective interview rooms.

In the final seconds of the first half, Doncic drove into the lane with Gobert on his left hip. Doncic missed the shot. No foul was called. Time expired. Gobert grabbed the basketball and tossed it into Doncic’s hands. Doncic, looking the other way at the time, became incensed and tossed the ball back at Gobert.

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Utah’s Royce O’Neal tried to play peacemaker, unsuccessfully. Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie guided Doncic away from Gobert as Doncic hollered toward the 7-1 center, but Doncic still was called for a technical foul -- his 13th of the season, three shy of earning an automatic suspension.

“Emotions, that’s it” Doncic said postgame. “I don’t know how I got a technical and he didn’t. I am used to that now. He threw the ball first.”

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Gobert, who earlier in the first half was in fact whistled for a technical foul, was asked what happened on the play to cause emotions to combust. His answer was lengthy, during which he called out Mavericks bench players for saying unpleasant things — and Gobert wondered why the referees didn’t take control of the situation.

“I mean, just emotions,” he said. “Just basketball. Europeans, we play with a lot of emotions sometimes. The game, I think the officials have got to be able to get in check on both sides and make sure that no lines are crossed — whether it’s verbally or with actions.

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“Yeah, there was a lot of things being said out there. At some point, we’re men, too. ... For me and for my team, I’ve just got to keep my mind in the right place. My team needs me in the game. But, at the same time, it’s like when you’ve got guys on the bench, you know that don’t play and just keep talking and saying some stuff. Officials can hear and they don’t do anything, as a man it’s like, ‘Is it worth being suspended?’ And we should not have to ask ourselves that question.

“I think they’ve just got to do a better job of keeping that in check for this. It’s actions, but the words carry weight, so if someone is disrespecting you, at that point as men we ask ourself: ‘Stay on the court and not penalize our team?’ Or, do we want to stand up for ourselves?”

Asked whether Mavericks bench players said something that crossed the line, Gobert said:

“A lot of things that are being said that wouldn’t be said outside a basketball court,” he said. “A lot of things I don’t ever say. I’m not perfect, but I don’t say things to guys on the court that I wouldn’t tell to their face outside the locker room.”

In the third quarter, Doncic and Gobert again became entangled. In hindsight, both were able to laugh at the moment, but at the moment it happened? Not so much.

On the play in question, Doncic drove into the lane and tossed an alley-up over Gobert to Dwight Powell for a slam and an 85-63 Dallas lead. As Gobert turned to try to head upcourt, Doncic tried to impede him, then fell backward, exaggeratedly, apparently trying to get a second technical on Gobert and an ejection.

“I mean, I kind of knew,” Gobert said with a chuckle. “He whispered something in my ear and he tried to bait me to get mad, but I knew what he was trying to do, so just tried to run back on offense. He was there in my way and kind of tripped.”

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Gobert laughed again.

“I mean, just you know, I guess it’s also part of the game. But, yeah, it was funny.”

Officials reviewed video of the play to check to see whether Gobert committed “a hostile act,” but it was apparent to everyone who saw the video that Doncic flopped. Even Doncic sheepishly admitted so afterward.

”I thought it was worse,” he said. “Then when I saw it. It was nothing. We were all laughing at the bench.”

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The Mavericks and the Jazz are battling for position in the Western Conference standings and have one more meeting, on March 27, in Dallas.

Then they could very well meet in the first round of the playoffs. By all indications, that would be an eventful series.

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Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.