An aggressive fan is an aggressive fan, but things change a bit when he is the billionaire owner of the team.
Near the end of the second quarter, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia was involved in an incident with star center Nikola Jokic during Phoenix’s 129-124 Game 4 win on Sunday.
Ishbia ended up with the ball after Suns forward Josh Okogie dove into the stands trying to save the ball from going out of bounds. He would hold onto it instead of giving it to the refs.
When Jokic went to retrieve the ball, it flew backward. He then made contact with Ishbia, who flew backward.
However, some on social media argued that Ishbia exaggerated his fall after taking a push from Jokic while others want him suspended for his elbow.
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Jokic explained that he was trying to retrieve the ball quickly to give the Nuggets an advantage on offense, given Okogie was tangled up in the crowd.
“[The ref] told me I was elbowing the fan,” Jokic, who scored 53 points, said. “But the fan put the hand on me first. So I thought the league’s supposed to protect us or whatever, but maybe I’m wrong, so we will see.”
Jokic got a technical on the play and the NBA is likely to review the altercation to see if it warrants a suspension for Tuesday’s pivotal Game 5 in Denver.
The series is now even at two games apiece as each team protected their home court with two wins each.
