Luka Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul in the middle of the third quarter of Saturday's 105-104 Los Angeles Lakers win over the Orlando Magic.
After shooting free throws, he and Goga Bitadze continued chirping at each other. The officials assessed them both with technical fouls. Crew chief Marc Davis said in a pool report that the two players were given technical fouls for continuing to talk to one another after being given a warning to stop.
That would typically be the end of it.
Doncic did not let it rest there. When asked about the incident in the postgame, he was candid about what happened and very angry about the incident, claiming Bitadze insulted his family using a curse word in Serbian.
Bitadze spoke to reporters, including Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, on the phone after the game, denying he said anything directed at Doncic and only that he was responding in kind in Serbian to what Doncic was saying, claiming that Doncic insulted his mother at the foul line. Bitadze apologized if he crossed any lines unintentionally and expressed his respect for Doncic.
Here’s what #Magic center Goga Bitadze told ESPN and the @orlandosentinel about his interaction with Lakers star Luka Doncic during Saturday’s game: pic.twitter.com/nx2vn8lMPu
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) March 22, 2026
Maybe the NBA's lip readers can brush up on their Serbian and get to the bottom of things. Both players, to some extent, feel like they let their teams down in a critical moment in the game.
For Bitadze though, it highlighted one of the big issues facing the seventh-year big man and one of the reasons he has found himself outside of the Magic's playing rotation.
Bitadze is a highly emotional player. And it is those emotions that often get him in trouble. It is those emotions that leave him a bit unreliable for the Magic in the long run.
This incident is a perfect example of where Bitadze is at in his career. And how he has struggled to showcase what makes him a solid player.
In and out of the rotation
Goga Bitadze has proven to be a solid fill-in center throughout his time with the Orlando Magic. He gives the Magic something very different than their other bigs as someone who can block shots and play above the rim. He is more of a scavenger offensively, setting hard screens and working around the basket as opposed to Wendell Carter's jump shooting and Moe Wagner's post skills.
When Bitadze has been in, he has been more than solid for the team.
Orlando has a +1.9 net rating with Bitadze on the floor, a solid mark that trails only Jevon Carter, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter among the Magic's rotation players.
But Bitadze has been in and out of the rotation all season, though, despite his needed shot-blocking ability.
He has played in only 52 games so far this season. His low with the Magic is 62, meaning Bitadze would need to play in at least 10 of the last 12 games to eclipse that mark.
Bitadze is averaging 5.7 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game this season. But in only 15.0 minutes per game.
In games where Bitadze plays at least 20 minutes, he is averaging 10.2 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. He only has five such games. Last year, he played at least 20 minutes in 41 games.
It has been quite a downturn, guided by one of the healthiest seasons Wendell Carter has had in his career. And then the return of Moe Wagner from a torn ACL.
Bitadze still gets spot starts when Carter is out, like he was in Thursday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets. But Bitadze has been mostly out of the rotation.
A big reason why is his discipline on defense and how he lets his emotions get out of control. Bitadze will often compound mistakes with more mistakes and fouls. Despite his limited minutes, he averages 2.0 fouls per game. His 4.9 fouls per 36 minutes are the most in his career with the Magic.
Bitadze does not have the defensive versatility to guard on the perimeter that the Magic like. But he tends to use his hands and push a lot. And when he struggles, he let mistakes compound.
The Magic undoubtedly wanted to give Wagner a chance to recover from his torn ACL. That was always going to cut into Bitadze's minutes. He has had to fight to get minutes. And while Bitadze is a backup-level big. He is increasingly not finding a route to play in Orlando.
He has lost his minutes and spot in the rotation for much of the season. Every moment matters for him.
Critical decisions
Still, there is a critical decision the Orlando Magic must make before the Playoffs.
Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers was notable becuase it was the first time since Moe Wagner initially returned that coach Jamahl Mosley turned to Goga Bitadze in the rotation. Wagner did not play in Saturday's game.
Bitadze needed to make a positive impact to retain his spot in the rotation. He largely did that with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Magic were +9 in his minutes as they erased an early 14-point deficit behind the bench.
Bitadze had a big role in that. And the Magic must decide who their best backup center option is.
Wagner deserves some grace returning from a torn ACL, but he has struggled to get himself all the way back. He is averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 13.2 minutes per game this season. His 41.9 percent field goal percentage is the worst since his rookie year.
Orlando has a defensive rating of 116.6 points allowed per 100 possessions with Wagner on the floor, the worst among the Magic's rotation players (only Orlando Robinson is worse).
It has felt for a while that the Magic needed to see Wagner improve his play to be ready for the Playoffs. Otherwise, it would make sense to turn to Bitadze and get him playing time.
That is what Saturday felt like in a vital game with two rim-running bigs causing the Magic problems defensively. Bitadze might be the better option for the Playoffs.
Bitadze performed and showed why he can still make an impact for this team. It would not be shocking to see Bitadze play in these final 12 games to the season.
But the incident with Doncic was a reminder of how Bitadze sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him and how he lets mistakes compound. It was his worst habits coming to the fore -- even if the personal tit-for-tat was somewhat justified.