Thunder guard Lu Dort left fans seething on Thursday night after he was ejected for a ‘dirty’ hit on the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford.
In the second half of the game, Dort was attempting to stay with Kyrie Irving when Gafford set a screen.
Dort then hit Gafford in the groin with his hand, leaving the big man crouching in pain as the play briefly continued.
Referees then called a common foul on Dort before upgrading it to a flagrant two and throwing him out of the game.
Fans were not pleased with Dort’s actions as video of his hit spread across social media.
‘Lu Dort is a stain on this league,’ one wrote on X. ‘genuinely embarrassing.’
Lu Dort hit Daniel Gafford in the groin, earning himself a flagrant-two foul and an ejection
Dort was slammed by fans online as he finished the eventual Thunder loss with six points
‘Lu Dort just got ejected for excessively hitting Gafford in the nuts. Dirtiest player in the league,’ a Mavericks fan said.
‘When my whole timeline is finally realizing how dirty of a player Lu Dort is and how he is bad for the NBA,’ another wrote.
It wasn’t the first controversial play that Dort was involved in on Thursday, as Locked on Mavs’ Nick Angstadt pointed out in a thread.
Earlier in the game, Dort awkwardly stuck his leg out while Irving again went around a Gafford screen, for which he also received a foul.
Dort was also criticized last postseason when he appeared to trip Luka Doncic during the playoffs, as the Mavs star tried to close out on Dort’s three-point attempt.
The Montreal-born player has spent his entire career in Oklahoma City since landing there as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
He’s averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per night this season as a starter for the West-leading Thunder.
He ended Thursday with just six points as the Thunder lost 121-115 to Dallas.
