The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns were both in action on Friday night, and it was the renewal of one of the newer rivalries in the NBA. Even though both teams were down a star with Luka Doncic and Devin Booker out, things still got heated as Jusuf Nurkic and Naji Marshall got in a squabble after Nurk picked up an offensive foul.
Nurkic didn’t appreciate something Marshall said to him after he bulldozed through Daniel Gafford and confronted him, eventually slapping/shoving Marshall in the face. Naji took exception to that and swung on Nurkic, appearing to catch him in the side of the face with a punch, with Nurkic then going to the ground after also getting a shove from PJ Washington.
Jusuf Nurkic, Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington were all ejected after this scuffle in Mavs-Suns. pic.twitter.com/A3Gk7eBYlI
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 28, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Nurkic and Marshall were ejected, with Washington also getting tossed for his role in pushing Nurkic to the ground. It was more actual action than we typically see in an NBA scuffle, as things rarely get past the pushing and shoving stage, but Nurkic swatting Marshall in the face escalated things quickly and the Mavs forward returned the favor with a punch that didn’t seem to connect cleanly. Luckily that was where things ended as the two were quickly separated, but both teams found themselves even more shorthanded than they already were with most of the second half still to play.