Tony Brothers, one of the referees who officiated in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Nuggets and the Suns explained his decision to give Nikola Jokic a technical foul for his scuffle with Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
“The ball went over into the corner there and one of the fans was holding the ball. Jokic came to get the ball, grabbed it away from the fan, then after that he deliberately gave him a shove and pushed him down, so he was issued an unsportsmanlike technical foul,” Brother said, via nba.com
The official explained why he thought that technical foul should be given in this instance instead of ejection: “I just deemed the technical foul the appropriate penalty for what happened over there. He didn’t just run over and hit a fan. There was some engagement, so I deemed the technical foul the appropriate penalty.”
