PORTLAND, Ore. – Sometimes, you have to pay a steep price for doing the right thing.
The Mavericks learned that lesson on Saturday when the NBA handed down harsh penalties to Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington for their roles in the fight that broke out with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic Friday night.
The league suspending Marshall four games without pay for throwing a punch at Nurkic, who was suspended three games without pay for initiating the incident. Washington got a one-game suspension for escalating the scuffle.
The NBA’s official news release said, in part: “The incident, which occurred with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 98-89 win over the Suns began after Nurkic committed an offensive foul. Marshall and Nurkic then engaged in an on-court altercation. Nurkic escalated it by swing his arm and striking Marshall on top of his head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic’s face.”
In the short term, the Mavericks will be without two of their best defensive players.
In the long term, however, the residual impact of the incident could pay dividends. The Mavericks showed how much they care about one another and the benefits of that chemistry and bonding could be long-lasting.
“If you look at the illness, the injuries, you start to create chemistry – we’ve been through a lot of that,” coach Jason Kidd said before Saturday’s game at Portland. “Yesterday was another (example) of what type of character the guys in that locker room (have) to protect one another.
“We put on that uniform to put ourselves in position to try to win every game. Understanding the togetherness and the opportunity to grow . . . we’re going to go through that in an 82-game schedule.”
In the altercation, the Mavericks were getting under the Suns’ skin early in the second half with some defense that had been sticky all night.
Marshall took offense and words were exchanged and the situation worsened.
Washington stepped in and that runs counter to what the NBA deems to be acceptable behavior in any altercation.
“It’s appropriate,” Kidd said of the punishments. “We go by what the league handed out and move forward. Those two will serve their suspension.”
The Mavericks made a lot of adjustments against the Blazers, but they were fortunate in the respect that they had to play almost half of Friday’s game against the Suns without all the players who missed Saturday’s game.
“We had some prep time with them being both kicked out of the game,” Kidd said. “Everyone else is on deck.
The Mavericks talked after Friday’s game like they were already drawing strength from the incident. Kyrie Irving said he would pay the fines that either Washington or Marshall incurred.
“Moments like that, you just want everybody protecting themselves,” he said. “I feel like that’s what P.J. was doing for Naji. Naji after he got hit was just protecting himself. If we’re out on the street, even though you’re not playing basketball, you got to put your hands up and at least swing back.”
As Spencer Dinwiddie said: “Credit Naji and P.J. for setting the tone. It speaks to them having Gaff’s back.”
X: @ESefko
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