"Luka already rubbing off": Lakers fans react as an angry Austin Reaves gets ejected during Hornets game

Austin Reaves lasted only till the third quarter on Wednesday in the LA Lakers’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets. Reaves received back-to-back technical fouls for excessively complaining to the referee with 3:17 remaining in the period. The shooting guard thought he was fouled by Jusuf Nurkic while going for a layup, a sequence the official called a fair play.

Fans promptly reacted to Reaves’ automatic ejection:

“Luka already rubbing off lol”

One fan said:

“2 weeks with Luka and he already hates the refs”

Another fan added:

“Luka and Reeves on the same team Pray for NBA refs y’all”

@wannabefresh continued:

“Draymond Green wouldn’t even get a tech let alone ejected. Crazy.”

@Sportcoin1 reacted:

“He was just trying to create more playing time for Knecht tonight…”

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves’ new superstar teammate, is notorious for often complaining to the referees. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Reaves was trolled with the Doncic reference following his ejection on Wednesday.

Reaves exited the game with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting. He added two rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal in 27 minutes. The LA Lakers led 65-57 when AR was tossed out following back-to-back technical fouls.

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The Charlotte Hornets surged late in the third quarter after Austin Reaves’ ejection

The LA Lakers looked like they would extend their lead past the halfway point of the third quarter. LA had strong end-of-period kicks to take control of the game. Austin Reaves’ ejection, however, changed the complex of the game.

Miles Bridges’ free throw off a Reaves technical foul started the run. A Seth Curry 26-footer with 21.1 seconds remaining in the period completed a 12-1 blast that pushed the Hornets to the driver’s seat. After trailing the entire game, the visitors held a 69-66 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Charlotte Hornets dominated the LA Lakers 32-18 in the third quarter behind their late charge to close out the period. Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, Nick Smith Jr., and Seth Curry combined for 7-for-11 from deep to turn the game around for the Hornets.

Meanwhile, LA’s offense stuttered even with LeBron James and Luka Doncic running the offense. They were 2-for-8 from deep and committed four turnovers, eventually losing out 97-100.