PORTLAND, Ore. – Sometimes, you have to pay a steep price for doing the right thing.
The Mavericks learned that lesson on Saturday when the NBA handed down harsh penalties to Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington for their roles in the fight that broke out with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic Friday night.
The league suspending Marshall four games without pay for throwing a punch at Nurkic, who was suspended three games without pay for initiating the incident. Washington got a one-game suspension for escalating the scuffle.
The NBA’s official news release said, in part: “The incident, which occurred with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 98-89 win over the Suns began after Nurkic committed an offensive foul.