In a low-scoring tight affair in Phoenix, there was only one moment that would catch the attention of NBA fans across the world.
The Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks possess some of the best talent in the league but the fight between Jusuf Nurkic and Naji Marshall stole the show.
The Mavericks ran out 89-98 winners helping extend their record to 20-11 but they are likely to be without Marshall for a while.
Tempers flared at the 9:02 mark of the third quarter where Nurkic and Marshall went at it. The altercation started when Nurkic charged hard against Daniel Gafford in the low post, leading to an offensive foul call from an official.
Upon walking away, the Suns man immediately returned and went head-to-head against Marshall. Nurkic initiated the scrap by knocking the Mavericks man in the head, prompting Marshall to throw a punch.
Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer was left angered by Nurkic’s actions while Mavericks Kyrie Irving revealed he would be acting on the incident.
Despite staying well out of any major issues in the altercation Irving is ready to step in and protect his impacted teammates by covering their fines.
Irving was hailed by teammate Quentin Grimes as the leader of the locker room and actions like this show exactly why.
The NBA champion top-scored for his Mavericks side with 20 points and Carmelo Anthony recently revealed how Irving has ‘found his home’ in Dallas.
Speaking to the media following the altercation Irving said: “Yeah, I was a little confused it happened so quickly but moments like that you just want everyone to protect themselves and that’s what I feel PJ [Washington] was doing for Naji [Marshall] after he got hit.
Irving went on to announce how he would help further support his teammates.
He said: “I’ll take care of his fine, PJ’s fine for the ejection. Just throw that sh*t under the rug man.”
Irving went on to jokingly state how the fights might help the NBA’s ratings.
Several teammates from both the Suns and the Mavericks came over to play some part in the altercation, most acting as peacemakers.
One man who tried to stay well out of the trouble was Suns rookie Ryan Dunn and he gave one clear reason why.
Speaking to reporters he joked: “I’m a rookie, I don’t got enough money to be getting fined $5,000 so I can’t throw a punch!”
Denver Nuggets DeAndre Jordan recently suggested that the NBA could introduce ‘shot clock fights’ to stop the ‘fake tussling.’ It certainly could have been used in this instance.
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