Nikola Jokic is having an exceptional postseason so far but Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns just didn’t go his way. He made history by becoming the first center to record 50 points and 10 rebounds in the postseason. But his historic performance was not enough to carry the Denver Nuggets all the way through. The Suns’ offense simply did not allow the Nuggets to wiggle through any space if there was any.
For the Suns, Devin Booker has been on a great scoring run averaging 36.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game. In Game 3 he had an exceptional 47-point outburst which got the Suns their first win of the series. Last night, Booker along with Kevin Durant had a combined total of 72 points. Both players have 36 points each and led the Suns to keep their home games record intact. And for the Nuggets, things only got worse as the Joker got physical with Suns owner Matt Ishbia.
He shouldn’t be anywhere near the players
— LG w2truong (@w2truong) May 8, 2023
Ishbia should be thrown out. Privileged at its finest.
— Jayson 🤑 (@HuiAdventures) May 8, 2023
Suspension !!
— Bow Jack (@therealtayda_) May 8, 2023
Toss the player. He was WAY out of line to push somebody like that. He was WAY out of line to grab the ball. Suspend him. Ishiba threw his arms up because he was rightfully surprised he was pushed. NO reason to push him. It ain’t Jokic’s ball. That dude needs to sit his own…
— Tommy (@wardjunior) May 8, 2023
Fans were left divided in this situation as one of them said, “Ishbia should be thrown out. Privileged at its finest.” And another fan said, “Toss the player. He was WAY out of line to push somebody like that.” Nikola Jokic received a technical foul for pulling the ball from and shoving Matt Ishbia. The Suns owner did a good job selling the shove, some criticized it. However, Jokic could face some serious repercussions over this matter.
Nikola Jokic referred to Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia as “a fan”
The Denver Nuggets superstar was well aware of what he had done and is probably expecting a fine as well. However, on being questioned about the incident by reporters, Jokic repeatedly complained about the fact that the NBA needs to protect its players more. He failed to acknowledge Ishbia as the owner of the Suns and kept calling him a fan. Even before almost admitting that Ishbia was the owner, Jokic stuttered and corrected himself.
“He told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put his hands on me first. I thought the league is supposed to protect us. But maybe I’m wrong,” he said. Jokic also went on to call Ishbia a fan because he was part of the audience. Nuggets Head Coach Mike Malone stood by Jokic’s side and stuck onto calling Ishbia a fan rather than the owner of the Suns. Malone also received a bit of an interrogative session by the media.
Mike Malone: “I think it’s crazy that Nikola [Jokic] got a technical foul… He’s going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be apart of the game.”
Reporter: “The fan was the owner of the Suns.”
MM: “I don’t give a sh*t.”pic.twitter.com/pMrfe1HUGE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2023
Malone believes that Nikola should not have been given a technical foul as Ishbia was only “a fan” trying to get involved. A reporter was quick to correct Malone’s words and say that Matt was the owner, to which the coach replied, “I don’t give a sh*t.” The Nuggets are still a very strong contender in the series. But the Suns are very familiar with these situations. The series is currently tied at 2-2 as both teams head to Denver.