Nuggets star Nikola Jokic buries the hatchet with Mat Ishbia… shaking the new Suns owner’s hand
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic buries the hatchet with Mat Ishbia… shaking the new Suns owner’s hand and jokingly handing him a basketball after shoving incident in Game 4
- Jokic and Ishbia were seen hugging it out before Game 5 in Denver Tuesday
- The player shoved the owner during Game 4, resulting in a $25,000 fine
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The sideline fracas between Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and Suns owner Matt Ishbia over the weekend apparently is a case of basketball bygones.
Jokic, who was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making contact with Ishbia during Game 4, flipped the ball to Ishbia at midcourt Tuesday night after he finished warming up ahead of Game 5.
Ishbia laughed as he caught the ball and rose to greet Jokic. The two men shared a ‘bro hug,’ and brief comments before Jokic continued toward the tunnel with a smile and Ishbia, also grinning, rolled the ball back onto the court.
Things weren’t so congenial between the two 48 hours earlier when Jokic tried to snatch the ball from the new Suns owner who was sitting courtside after a Suns player knocked it out of bounds and fell into the seats.
Ishbia wouldn’t let go, preventing Jokic from quickly handing it to an official for a 5-on-4 break. Jokic took exception and elbowed Ishbia, drawing a technical foul.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Suns owner Mat Ishbia hugged it out after a shoving incident Sunday
Jokic got in a bust-up with Ishbia during a dead ball period in Game 4 in Phoenix on Sunday
Jokic finished with 53 points in a losing effort to Ishbia’s Suns, tying the series at 2-2
Ishbia lobbied the league not to suspend the two-time NBA MVP on Monday, when Jokic was fined $25,000 but not ordered to sit out Tuesday night’s game in Denver.
The tussle overshadowed the game and set social media ablaze, with some calling Ishbia a flopper who should have been punished like any other fan for disrupting the flow of the game and others suggesting Jokic deserved a suspension for elbowing a spectator.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Monday that the only one who should be fined was Ishbia for flopping. On Tuesday, he called Jokic’s $25,000 fine ‘Old news now. We’re getting ready for Game 5 in front of the best fans in the world.
‘That’s where our whole attention is right now, is trying to figure out a way to retake control of the series.’
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
