Fines and suspensions may be forthcoming after an intense altercation involving Suns center Jusuf Nurkic and Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington during Friday’s game, which led to the ejection of all three players.
According to a Twitter video link, the confrontation took place in the fourth quarter and quickly escalated. As detailed by Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, the incident began when Nurkic was called for an offensive foul.
After the whistle blew, he started heading toward his basket but then stopped and turned back toward Marshall and Washington, leading to an exchange of words between the three players.
Tensions flared when Nurkic slapped Marshall on the side of the head, a move that prompted Marshall to retaliate by throwing a punch at Nurkic.
Amid this confrontation, P.J. Washington shoved Nurkic to the floor, further escalating the situation. The officials, recognizing the physical nature of the altercation, promptly ejected all three players from the game.
The league is expected to conduct a review of the incident to determine whether fines or suspensions are warranted. Such disciplinary actions are common in situations where physical altercations disrupt the flow of the game, especially when punches or physical aggression are involved.
The decision could also take into account any prior disciplinary history of the players involved, as well as the severity of the incident.
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