{"id":114451,"date":"2024-12-28T06:47:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T11:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=114451"},"modified":"2024-12-28T06:47:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T11:47:07","slug":"tempers-flare-suns-mavs-brawl-players-react","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/28\/tempers-flare-suns-mavs-brawl-players-react\/","title":{"rendered":"Tempers Flare As Suns, Mavs Brawl; Players React"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Mavericks <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/statmuse\/status\/1872862404729819192\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">are now 7-2<\/a> without Luka Doncic this season after defeating the Phoenix Suns on Friday. However, with several players awaiting punishment for a brief in-game brawl, the taste of victory isn\u2019t as sweet as it could be.<\/p>\n<h2>Tempers Flare As Suns, Mavs Brawl<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s set the stage.<\/p>\n<p>After being called for an offensive foul against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gaffoda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daniel Gafford<\/a>, Phoenix Suns center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurkiju01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jusuf Nurkic<\/a> soon walked Mavs forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/marshna01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Naji Marshall<\/a> down, appearing to take exception to a comment. Nurkic then shoved Marshall\u2019s head away with an open hand, prompting the 26-year-old to throw a punch at Nurkic\u2019s head. In an attempt to defend his teammate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/washipj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PJ Washington<\/a> pushed Nurkic, causing the big man to stumble and fall.<\/p>\n<p>Nurkic, Marshall, and Washington then each received a technical foul and were subsequently ejected from the game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jusuf Nurkic, Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington were all ejected after this scuffle in Mavs-Suns. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A3Gk7eBYlI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/A3Gk7eBYlI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1872856075898114152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Following the game, Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer stopped short of defending Nurkic\u2019s actions, but called him \u201ca competitive guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;He&#8217;s a competitive guy. He&#8217;s good.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mike Budenholzer on Jusuf Nurkic after fight with Naji Marshal;, P.J. Washington Jr. All three were ejected.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know all the details of what got it to that point. I don&#8217;t think you want an altercation to reach that level ever.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TpbsGwkuQ6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/TpbsGwkuQ6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1872884236879052999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Suns star guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a> was transparent, saying it was \u201cprobably a frustration play.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;It&#8217;s probably a frustration play. It could\u2019ve went a little further than that. Might have got personal between him and Naji.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bradley Beal on Marshall-Nurkic fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ain\u2019t nobody about to come out here and do WWE wrestling, but Nurk a big fella. I wouldn\u2019t piss him off.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/62Bm8qjLoY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/62Bm8qjLoY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1872888207932833821?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Suns superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> was forward-thinking, knowing that \u201cguys are going to get suspended maybe, lose a lot of money doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what it was about. I just saw a couple of punches get thrown and you hate to see that in this game because you know guys are going to get suspended maybe, lose a lot of money doing that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Durant on Jusuf Nurkic, Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rbvzk5i2BL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/rbvzk5i2BL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1872898109279498496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no indication that any of the involved players will be suspended as of right now but it\u2019s certainly possible. Though the melee didn\u2019t lead to serious injuries, it was an ugly scene. More to the point, the league has been trying to avoid these types of situations since the infamous <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/20\/malice-at-the-palace-revisiting-nbas-darkest-night\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Malice In The Palace<\/a> incident. With that being said, striking players with a closed-hand fist is a big no-no in the NBA.<\/p>\n<h3>Kyrie Irving Reacts<\/h3>\n<p>There isn\u2019t much anyone can do if the league office decides that a short suspension is the appropriate course of action. However, Mavericks guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a>\u00a0is willing to take the fine for his teammates. Sharing his thoughts about the incident, he admits that he \u201cwas a little confused. It happened so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;Throw that **** under the rug. Excuse my language.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kyrie Irving said he&#8217;ll pay fines for Naji Marshall, P.J. Washington after fight with Jusuf Nurkic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Maybe that&#8217;s just the way we end 2024 where somebody actually swings in the NBA. Maybe that will help our ratings.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BDbvLyHkZW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/BDbvLyHkZW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1872879995061977261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoments like that, you just want everybody to be protecting themselves. I feel like that&#8217;s what PJ was doing for Naji. Naji after he got hit, he was just protecting himself. If we&#8217;re out on the street, even if we&#8217;re not playing basketball, you gotta put your hands up and at least swing back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ll take care of this fine. PJ\u2019s fine,\u201d Irving continues, all but predicting his teammates\u2019 punishments. \u201cTheir ejections. Yeah, throw that **** under the rug, man. Excuse my language. It&#8217;s part of basketball sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe that&#8217;s just the way we end 2024, where somebody actually swings in the NBA,\u201d quips the quick-witted Duke product. \u201cMaybe that&#8217;ll help our ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Mavericks are now 7-2 without Luka Doncic this season after defeating the Phoenix Suns on Friday. However, with several players awaiting punishment for a brief in-game brawl, the taste of victory isn\u2019t as sweet as it could be. Tempers Flare As Suns, Mavs Brawl Let\u2019s set the stage. After being called for an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":114509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,30,3,28],"tags":[311,135,69,406,550,2288],"class_list":["post-114451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-mavericks","category-news","category-suns","tag-bradley-beal","tag-jusuf-nurkic","tag-kevin-durant","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-mike-budenholzer","tag-naji-marshall"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114451"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114511,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114451\/revisions\/114511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}