Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic pushed Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia back into his chair during a mid-game altercation Sunday night.
Jokic went to retrieve a loose ball from the stands that bounced into the hands of Ishbia, who was sitting courtside at the Footprint Arena in Phoenix.
Ishbia appeared to hold on to the ball as Jokic gestured for it, so the Denver center yanked the ball from the Phoenix owner and lightly shoved him back into his seat.
Nikola Jokic pushed away Suns owner Matt Ishbia with his elbow 😳
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) May 8, 2023
The commotion resulted in a technical foul against Jokic. Phoenix would go on to secure a much-needed 129-124 win and even the series at 2-2.
“He told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put his hands on me first,” Jokic said in his postgame press conference. “I thought the league [was] supposed to protect us. But maybe I’m wrong.”
Denver coach Mike Malone also weighed in afterward, saying “[Jokic] is going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be a part of the game.”
When a reporter stated that the fan was Suns owner Ishbia, Malone replied “I don’t give a s—-.”
Ishbia told The Associated Press that he was “fine” after the altercation and was back in his usual courtside seat.
Phoenix’s star guard Devin Booker, on the other hand, jokingly thanked Ishbia for his help.
“He got us a point. He did his job over there,” Booker said with a laugh.
Ishbia purchased a majority stake in the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury earlier this year for $4 billion.
