Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets had another epic battle in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. Nikola Jokic went off for 53 points, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team to a win.
However, no one will remember how dominant the Serbian big man was in the win. Instead, all they’ll talk about is how he got into a bit of an altercation with a fan mid-game, which led to a technical foul.
Notably, that fan just happened to be Suns’ owner,Mat Ishbia, but Jokic couldn’t care less about that. Per the Nuggets star, the league should’ve protected him as a playerinstead of letting a fan influence the game.
Nikola Jokic Shares His Thoughts On Incident With Suns Owner Mat Ishbia
“He told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put their hand on me first. I thought the league is supposed to protect us, or whatever,” the two-time MVP said postgame.“Maybe I am wrong, so we’ll see.”
“I know who he is, but he’s a fan,” Jokic replied when asked if he knew who he was. “Sitting courtside, he’s a fan. Doesn’t matter who he is; he can’t influence the game by holding the ball.His hands are on me; they’re not gonna protect me? They’re gonna protect the fan? Not me as a person, but I am talking about as a player. They don’t care, but they should protect the players. He’s influencing the game. I think he’s supposed to get kicked out if he’s influencing the game.”
The clip proves Jokic is right. Ishbia goaded him into that technical and flopped when slightly pushed. He had no business holding onto the ball like that, and being an owner doesn’t give him the right to do everything he wants.
Mike Malone Was Livid At The Referees
Coach Mike Malone was also furious about what happened. He claimed Jokic should’ve never been called for a technical foul, even if the fan involved in the altercation was a league executive:
“I still am not sure of what happened; I haven’t seen the video of it,” Malone said.“I think it’s crazy that Nikola [Jokic] got a technical foul in that situation. He’s going to get the ball, and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be a part of the game.”
“Just give the ball up, man. They deemed Nikola for doing something excessive and gave him a technical. I still don’t really understand it,” Malone continued. “I don’t give a sh*t [if it’s the Suns’ owner.]I really don’t care.”
Jokic should know better than to risk an ejection over that. But it was a close game for the full 48 minutes, and every single point counts. The league may or may not decide to pursue further action, but they must definitely take a deep look into this.