Phoenix Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia responded to the dramatic square-up that he had with Nikola Jokic during game 3. During the first half, Jokic and Ishbia got into an altercation over the ball. While Jokic received a technical foul for it, the debate afterward contemplated the repercussions of the entire instance. Ishbia, in an attempt to burry the hatchet, tweeted out a peace message. The 43-year-old claimed he had a lot of respect for Jokic and does not want to see him suspended for the second-quarter incident. After the match, the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley had criticized Ishbia for flopping.
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O’Neal suggested on Instagram that Ishbia wanted to “flop” and sell the contact as a shove. Charles Barkley, while on Inside the NBA, on the other hand, claimed that if it was some regular fan who had grabbed the ball, they would have been gotten “tossed.”
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith questioned Nikola Jokić receiving a technical and Mat Ishbia not being ejected. “If another fan wouldn’t have let the ball go, he would have got tossed,” Barkley said. pic.twitter.com/C9mMFOhxVM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
Mat Ishbia responds after getting criticized for Nikola Jokic incident
The Suns and the Nuggets were embroiled in a competitive game with Kevin Durant’s team in a 1-point lead in quarter 2. Suns’ player Josh Okogie ran off court in a bid to retrieve the ball, which found its way to Mat Ishbia.
Ishbia ended up grabbing hold of it, after which Nikola Jokic attempted to retrieve the ball. However, the contact ended up knocking Ishbia behind as the ball got knocked over toward a deeper row.
Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far!
That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have alot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) May 8, 2023
This led to Jokic receiving a technical foul and subsequent rumors of suspension. However, Ishbia claimed on Twitter that he does not want “anyone” to be suspended or fined for the incident:
“Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far! That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have a lot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!”
What next for Jokic and the Denver Nuggets?
It was clear even before the series had started that Nikola Jokic is crucial to the Nuggets’ chances of defeating the Suns. Both Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal thought that Ishbia was in the wrong, something Jokic seemingly agreed with.
The 28-year-old claimed that he was given a technical for “elbowing a fan.” However, he went on to claim that it was Ishbia who had first made contact and that the NBA was supposed to protect the players in such situations.
As things stand, and considering the kind of importance Nikola Jokic commands for the Denver Nuggets, the NBA might shy away from suspending him. The series is nicely poised at 2-2. Any such suspension will more likely than not lead to a knockout for the Denver Nuggets.
