A fracas broke out during the third quarter of Friday's game between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, a 98-89 victory for Dallas at Footprint Center.
With 9:02 remaining in the third period, Suns center Jusuf Nurkic received the ball in the post and, as he was backing down Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford, extended his arm and made contact with Gafford's face, knocking him to the ground. Nurkic was whistled for a foul.
Nurkic and Mavericks forward Naji Marshall then had words as the Suns center headed back up the court. Marshall confronted Nurkic, getting up close and personal with the Suns big man, who responded by slapping the Mavericks forward in the face. Marshall then landed a punch on Nurkic's face and a scuffle broke out between the two teams. During the kerfuffle, Mavericks big man P.J. Washington shoved Nurkic to the ground.
Order was quickly restored and ejections were issued to Nurkic, Marshall and Washington.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the game that his players were "protecting each other", adding that emotions can sometimes "get high" during games.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer decried the incident, believing it to be a poor look for the NBA.
"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," Budenholzer said, via Gerald Bourguet on X (formerly Twitter). "I don't know all the details of what it got to that point."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Players Ejected As Jusuf Nurkic, Naji Marshall Exchange Blows in Suns-Mavs Fight.
