PHOENIX – Suns center Jusuf Nurkic and Mavericks forwards Naji Marshall and PJ Washington were ejected after a brief fight between the players during Dallas’ 98-89 victory Friday night.
Nurkic was called for an offensive foul while being guarded by Daniel Gafford with 9:02 left in the third quarter before the altercation quickly escalated. Nurkic confronted Marshall before swinging open hands at his head, and Marshall responded with a punch. Washington quickly pushed Nurkic to the ground before the teams were separated.
“Just protecting each other, that was it,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Emotions can run high, so our guys protect each other. We talk about it and it showed tonight.”
The referees reviewed the play before deciding that all three players would be sent off.
“I don’t think this level of altercation is good for our team, it’s not good for anyone individually, it’s not good for our league,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I don’t know all the details of what it has achieved so far.”
Suns star Kevin Durant called it an “unfortunate situation.”
“You don’t like to see that in this match,” he said. “Guys might get suspended and lose a lot of money because of it. But that’s what happens when you’re in a competition sometimes. Tempers get a little heated and you go overboard. And on the other hand, you’re trying to protect yourself, too.”
The Mavs already fell short after losing star Luka Doncic to a calf injury on Christmas Day.
This report used information from The Associated Press.