Luka Doncic is not one to keep his feelings to himself on the court. It doesn’t matter whether he’s celebrating coldly or voicing his frustrations to the referees. Luka is going to do what he thinks is right. But tonight, that attitude almost got the Lakers star into trouble. And he narrowly avoided heavy punishment thanks to one of his teammates. So, what happened?

Well, during tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets game, Luka was clearly fouled. However, the ref, who had a great view of the whole thing, ended up not calling it. And an exasperated Luka Doncic waved his arms in front of the official, expressing his frustrations in the worst possible way.

In stepped Austin Reaves, who practically bear-hugged Docic, carrying his upset teammate away from the referee. JJ Redick and the Lakers ended up challenging the call, anyway. So, Luka’s vehement protests may have led to some unnecessary punishment if not for AR.

But that’s not all. Kelly Iko, a reporter for The Athletic and an eyewitness to the whole thing, later confirmed that Luka was, in fact, mocking Dillon Brooks’ protests to the official. Right in front of Brooks, no less.

But things could have ended very badly for the Lakers star if not for Reaves. After all, we’ve seen how seriously the NBA takes slights against its referees. And even if Luka was mocking Brooks, he still had no way to predict how the official would have taken it. He may have taken it in jest. Or he may have thought Luka was being serious and could’ve given him a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

There’s also the possibility that the league may have punished Luka later on. We’ve seen it happen before. In fact, it wasn’t even a month ago that the NBA slapped Pascal Siakam with a hefty $25,000 fine for “confronting and directing profane language toward game officials.” While Luka didn’t go that far, he still could’ve gotten into some hot water. Thank goodness for Austin Reaves, huh?

However, you may have noticed the same thing Kelly Iko did. Dillon Brooks did not react at all to Doncic’s mocking. Dillon the Villain! Can you believe it? I mean, we all know that Dillon Brooks has a certain reputation. So, let’s tell you why he chose not to live up to it tonight.

Dillon Brooks ignores Luka Doncic’s mocking to avoid suspension

The usually loud-mouthed Dillon Brooks was surprisingly nonchalant in the face of Luka Doncic’s mocking. But you see, even Brooks knows that the team’s interests come before any petty grievances he may have with Doncic. And that’s why he did not react to Doncic.

Confused? Let us give you some more context. You see, Dillon Brooks has 15 technicals already this season. And you know what happens when you get your 16th, right? No? Well, you receive a one-game suspension for it. But what makes this worse is that every subsequent technical brings with it another one-game suspension.

It happened to Anthony Edwards when he faced off against the Lakers back in February. So, being in the final stretch of the regular season, it makes sense why Dillon Brooks did not want to become the second player this year to meet this fate against Luka Doncic and the Lakers. Even if that meant suppressing himself a little in the face of a mocking Doncic.

But Dillon will be able to relax a little bit, soon. Why? Well, the NBA resets every player’s technical counts when the postseason begins. However, in the postseason, you have a lot less room for error, as 7 technicals get you the same fate as 16 in the regular season. So maybe Dillon Brooks could do with a little moderation like he practiced tonight.

But who knows what will happen if Luka and the Lakers meet Dillon and the Rockets in the postseason? Perhaps the tensions will boil over this time. We can’t keep hoping for AR to run interference every time, after all!