"Could have hurt his back even more" - Lakers fans fear the worst for Luka Doncic after referees ignore $97,000,000 center's blatant shove 

Luka Doncic and the LA Lakers suffered a 111-108 upset loss against the Brooklyn Nets in Monday's clash at the Barclays Center. Doncic and the Lakers had a rough night, but the referees were arguably responsible for some of those woes. The lack of a whistle for the team, especially Doncic, raised questions about the officiating.

The referees seemingly didn't have a balanced whistle on both ends, exclusively in the first half. The Lakers only made two trips to the foul line in the first two quarters, while the Nets had 16 attempts. The Nets won the overall free-throw battle 30-19. Doncic only had four attempts.

He played through contact all night, looking to go more downhill to put pressure on the defense, but it didn't work. It impacted his efficiency, too. Doncic went 8 of 26 from the floor. He had 12 attempts in the paint. The refs questionably missed many of the on-ball fouls, and that's common.

However, an off-ball foul against Luka Doncic stood out the most. It was committed by Nets' $97,000,000 center Nicolas Claxton, who shoved the Lakers superstar in the back with both his hands to gain an advantage on the offensive glass. Here's the video:

Lakers fans on X were severely concerned for the five-time NBA All-Star's health, especially with him nursing a back injury over the past week.

One fan demanded Lakers coach JJ Redick to hold the refs accountable, tweeting:

Another added:

"Atp it's open season on Luka. Players know they can get away with this and so this is becoming more and more common. Luka needs to get aggressive and push back take a couple ejections to stop this"

One fan claimed that the Nets were inspired by the Celtics' physical defense against Doncic in Saturday's contest:

"For this blatant act to potentially hurt him and not be called is beyond a joke. The league and it's officials are so pathetic at the moment," one fan said.

One fan added:

"2 hands straight in the back right in front of the ref"

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Luka Doncic bluntly calls out referees

Luka Doncic didn't hold back on the officiating after the loss. The Lakers superstar deemed the whistle "unfair."

"It was a lot," Doncic said. "It was unfair. We still gotta play, I gotta keep playing the game. But it was a lot, man. I ain't gonna lie."

Doncic's whistle, compared to other All-NBA players, has been questionable for years. He's never had a great relationship with the refs, either. It's one of the biggest criticisms against him since his time in Dallas. His former coach, Jason Kidd, also called Doncic out several times when he was with the Mavericks for this reason.

However, Monday was a different situation. Luka Doncic and the Lakers were on the receiving end of some tough non-calls on offense, and it significantly derailed their momentum after taking a 15-point first-quarter lead.