The Los Angeles Lakers star and Orlando Magic centre were both assessed technical fouls during the contest for exchanging some words while Doncic was at the free-throw line.
Doncic claims that Bitadze told him he “would f— his whole family.”
Bitadze refuted Doncic’s bold claim and said it was he who brought families into their altercation.
“What (Doncic) came out and said, I don’t think that’s the truth,” Bitadze said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I know that’s not the truth. I know what I said. … I apologize if it crossed the line.
“He said something about my mother, which is really inappropriate. We don’t say that stuff. … So I just said whatever he told me about my mother and said it back. That was pretty much it.”
Bitadze shared that it goes against his personal values to speak on another person’s family.
“I have all the respect for Luka and what he has done,” Bitadze said. “I really respect everybody’s family. Where I come from, it’s really sacred, and we really respect each other’s family. I would never directly say that.
“He just said some inappropriate things in the Serbian language. I played in Serbia, and I understand. I don’t know if he knew I understood what he said, so I just said it back. It was nothing towards his family or anybody. His family, I really, truly respect them.”
The technical was Doncic’s 16th of the season, meaning he will be suspended for Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, when the Lakers will try to win a 10th straight.
“At some point, I gotta stand up for myself, but I know I gotta do better,” Doncic added.
The Lakers have already submitted an appeal for Doncic’s technical and asked for a review of Bitadze’s involvement. They believe the Magic big man should have been issued a warning before the techs, McMenamin reported.
