Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic and Dallas forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington were ejected after a brief fight during the Mavericks’ 98-89 win over the Suns on Friday night.
The incident began when Nurkic was called for an offensive foul while being guarded by Daniel Gafford with 9:02 left in the third quarter. The situation quickly escalated as Nurkic confronted Marshall, then swung his hand at Marshall’s head. Marshall responded by punching Nurkic, and Washington pushed Nurkic to the ground before the teams were separated.
“Just protecting each other — that’s what that was,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Emotions can get high, so our guys protect one another. We talk about it and it was displayed tonight.”
Mavs guard Kyrie Irving shared a lighthearted comment: “Maybe that’s just the way we end 2024, where somebody actually swings in the NBA. Maybe that will help our ratings.”
The referees reviewed the situation and decided to eject all three players.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer expressed concern about the incident: “I think that level of altercation is not good for our team, it’s not good for anybody individually, it’s not good for our league. I don’t know all the details of what got it to that point.”
The Mavericks were already missing star Luka Dončić, who is out for about a month due to a calf injury he sustained on Christmas Day.
