Tensions between Luka Doncic and Goga Bitadze erupted during the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Orlando Magic, but the fallout quickly turned into a he-said, he-said situation.
The incident resulted in two technical fouls following an on-court exchange, with Doncic later claiming Bitadze crossed a line with his comments about his family.
“… He said he would — my whole family, and at some point, this is a basketball court, at some point I couldn't stand it. I had to stand up for myself. But I knew I had to do better. My teammates, I know they had my back, so I let them down today, but hopefully it will be undone.”
Bitadze, however, vehemently denied the accusations and provided a completely different version of events.
“I have a lot of respect for Luka and everything he's done,” Bitadze told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “I really respect everybody's family. Where I come from, it's really sacred and we really respect each other's families and I would never say that directly. He just said something inappropriate in Serbian and I play in Serbia and I understand that.”
“I don't know if he knew I understood what he was saying. So, I just said it back. It doesn't have any impact on his family or anyone. I really respect his family.”
Asked to clarify the exchange, Bitadze said: “He said something about my mother that was really inappropriate. We don't say those things during the game. … So I just said what he told me or [about] my mother [and] Come back. “
Bitadze added: “It was just in the heat of the moment. I heard what he said and I felt I had to respond in the same way. So, from my perspective, if he felt I said too much or crossed a line, as a man I would apologize. I can accept that. [accountability]but I didn’t say anything, but he said it. “
“He said something about my mother that was really inappropriate. We don't say those things during the game… so I just said what he told me or [about] my mother [and] Come back. “
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