Nikola Jokić has been fined $25,000 for making contact with Suns owner Mat Ishbia during Game 4, the NBA announced Monday. That was the right call.
There was no mention of a fine for Ishbia by the league. If not, he got off very easy.
Everything came to a head around this second-quarter incident, where the Suns’ Josh Okogie lept into the crowd to try and save a loose ball — a ball that ended up in the hands of Ishbia. Jokić came over, wanted to get the ball back into play fast, tried the rip the ball out of Ishbia’s hands and what followed led to a technical for Jokić and the NBA reviewing the situation.
Nikola Jokic shoves Suns owner Mat Ishbia. 👀 pic.twitter.com/C3xVv4Vg4j
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 8, 2023
Jokić absolutely should not have been suspended, both by the letter of the NBA law (ESPN’s Zach Lowe broke that down well on his podcast) and just common sense.
To his credit, Ishbia didn’t want to see Jokić suspended.
Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far!
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) May 8, 2023
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!
Ishbia, for his part, should see a fine from the league — at least $50,000 for a flop that would have Vlade Divac wanting to come out of retirement.
Denver and Phoenix move on to a fascinating Game 5, where the Nuggets need to find a way to slow the hottest shooter in the playoffs — Devin Booker, now with Chris Paul’s point guard responsibilities — and Kevin Durant. That Suns duo scored 84 in Game 3 and 72 in Game 4, sparking the Suns to shootout wins. The series is tied 2-2 in what has become the most entertaining and tactically engaging first-round series.
Jokić (who scored 53 in Game 4) has to be on the court for that.
