Tensions between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns quickly escalated on Friday.
Three players, Jusuf Nurkić of the Suns and PJ Washington and Naji Marshall of the Mavericks, were ejected after a fight interrupted play in the third quarter.
The fight began when Nurkić hit Dallas center Daniel Gafford with a hard elbow, drawing an offensive foul. As the big Bosnian man walked away with Gafford on the ground, he seemed to hear Marshall say something and approached him and Washington.
Marshall put his hands on Nurkić’s chest, Nurkić responded by hitting him in the head and Marshall punched him before the referees intervened to break up the confrontation.
Here is the sequence that led to three expulsions. Nurkic extends his arm and fouls Gafford. Nurkic crushes Marshall’s head. Marshall hits back. pic.twitter.com/1yoZTP9Kyj
-Cristiano Clark (@cclark_13) December 28, 2024
The end result was three quick ejections and, because the Mavericks’ ejecters outnumbered the Suns, a free throw for the Suns, which was made by Kevin Durant. It wasn’t a bad trade from the Suns’ perspective, as Washington and Marshall are starters and among Dallas’ most important defenders.
Nurkić came out of the game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting, five rebounds and two assists, while Washington and Marshall combined for 11 points. Durant led all scorers with 32 points.