Three players were ejected during a game between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns on Friday night after a fight broke out, but it was Kyrie Irving who stole the show with a hilarious reaction to the melee.
With 9:02 remaining in the third quarter, Suns center Jusuf Nurkic was whistled for an offensive foul and that’s when chaos ensued.
Nurkic began jawing with Mavericks wing Naji Marshall before aggressively palming his head. Marshall responded with a punch as officials stepped in and attempted to separate the two. During that frenzy, Mavs forward PJ Washington threw Nurkic to the ground.
Irving was left in stunned silence as he watched the exchange from just feet away.
LMFAOOOOO https://t.co/6mnvgiiBn1 pic.twitter.com/ESbqh0untr
— Omar (@KingBacca22x) December 28, 2024
After the game, Irving addressed his befuddled look and explained why he didn’t step in to protect his teammates.
“I was a little confused. It happened so quickly,” Irving said, via Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News. “Moments like that, you just want everybody to be protecting themselves. I feel like that’s what PJ was doing for Naji. Naji after he got hit, he was just protecting himself. If we’re out on the street, even if we’re not playing basketball, you gotta put your hands up and at least swing back.”
Irving then said he would pay Washington’s fine and joked that perhaps throwing a few punches would give the NBA a much-needed ratings boost.
“I’ll take care of this fine. … PJ’s fine,” he said. “Their ejections. Yeah, throw that s–t under the rug, man. Excuse my language. It’s part of basketball sometimes. Haven’t seen it. Maybe that’s just the way we end 2024, where somebody actually swings in the NBA. Maybe that’ll help our ratings.”
It certainly couldn’t hurt.
Once things calmed down, Dallas cruised to a 98-89 victory. Irving led the way with a team-high 20 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists.
