Nikola Jokic won’t be suspended for Game 5 after incident with Mat Ishbia
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker led the way with 36 points and 12 assists on absurd efficiency in their 129-124 win over the Denver Nuggets Sunday to even the series at two apiece; heck, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic scored 53 points (on 30 shots) with 11 rebounds in 39 minutes. Yet, neither of those two stories was the biggest of the night; the most significant involved … Suns owner Mat Ishbia?
Yes, that’s correct.
Jokic was assessed a technical foul in the first half of Sunday night’s game after shoving Ishbia into his courtside seat during a sequence where Jokic attempted to retrieve the ball from the Suns’ majority owner after a play.
Neither Ishbia or Jokic were ejected (another nearby fan was), but the NBA determined Monday that Jokic will not be suspended, but fined $25K, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported.
Ishbia took to Twitter Monday morning, claiming he doesn’t believe Jokic should be fined or suspended for what occurred.
Jokic was more defensive in his postgame, questioning why he should be suspended or fined for the incident.
“The fan put the hand on me first,” Jokic said after the game. “I thought the league was supposed to protect us or whatever. Maybe I am wrong. We’ll see.
“I know who he is, but he is a fan, isn’t he? He cannot influence the game by holding the ball … his hands were on me, so the NBA is not going to protect me? They’re going to protect the fan? Not me as a person, I’m talking about as a player.”
No ruling has been determined on any fine or suspension for Ishbia, either.
Suns guard Josh Okogie fell into the first row, while Ishbia and fans nearby were trying to get Okogie on his feet; Jokic, on the other hand, saw a 5-on-4 advantage and tried to get the ball, which fell into Ishbia’s lap. He was unsuccessful in his first attempt, and then pushed Ishbia back into his seat once Ishbia put his hands on Jokic’s hip.
By rule, Jokic could have been ejected from the game, but wasn’t and was just given a technical foul. The confrontation was relatively minor, so it’s easy to see why he wasn’t suspended. The NBA is a business, thus suspending one of the best players on Earth for one or multiple games would feel like a slight overreaction and, inherently, hurt its business.
Whether one believes that method of thinking is right or not in the end is a different ballgame. Game 5 will inarguably be the biggest game of the series up to this point, and could be the tipping point for how the series finishes.
“It’s an interesting series and hopefully we can protect our court like we’ve been doing all year,” Jokic said. “We did our job and they did their job, so I think at the end of it, it’s going to be an interesting Game 5.”
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