What happened between Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic during their Play-Offs clash last night?
Sunday’s clash between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their Western Conference Play-Off series produced a wild second-quarter scene.
With 2:36 left in the second quarter, two-time MVP playing for the other side, Nikola Jokic, attempted to quickly grab a ball that had gone out of bounds to initiate a fast break. The ball happened to be in the hands of Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who refused to give it to Jokic.
After a brief struggle for the ball, Ishbia knocked it away from Jokic. He then put his hand on Jokic’s hip, and Jokic responded with a shove. He was assessed a technical foul.
The game moved on. The Nuggets lost the game to the Suns, who drew level in the series with their second win on the actions despite the big Serbian’s heroics with a 53-point performance. However, many fans enquired whether Jokic will face a suspension for his actions.
As it turns out, Nikola Jokic will not be suspended for his push on Mat Ishbia.
NBA Rule 12A, Section Vl4 states that “a player, coach, trainer, or other team bench person must be ejected for deliberately entering the stands other than as a continuance of play.” The stands, for the purposes of this rule, are defined as the first row of seating. According to that rule, Jokic should have been ejected. However, Ishbia also broke a key rule for fan conduct and escaped ejection from the game.
Already, we have a murky situation to dissect. Jokic did not enter the stands as a continuation of play. Doing so would mean chasing a live ball as it went out of bounds. However, he did enter the stands for basketball reasons. He did not seek out a confrontation. He was attempting to inbound the ball. Ishbia, technically a spectator, interfered with his ability to do so.
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