Why James Harden, Aaron Gordon weren’t ejected for Game 4 altercation, but Michael Porter Jr. could face suspension

INGLEWOOD Calif In a parallel universe Aaron Gordon wasn t in the right place at the right time to dunk Nikola Jokic s airball at the buzzer because he wasn t on the court at all For a moment Saturday he flirted with an ejection by confronting James Harden during a donnybrook between the Nuggets and Clippers late in the first half of Challenge at Intuit Dome Gordon s hand even made inadvertent contact with the face of Clippers guard Norman Powell in the fray Fortunately for all involved including the live audience that was in for an instant classic nobody was disqualified for either squad Looking at all the angles we felt everyone involved had an equitable role in the altercation officiating crew chief Zach Zarba noted in a pool assessment interview Due to that they were all given equitable penalties More specifically Six offsetting technical fouls three to each crew Gordon Christian Braun and Nikola Jokic picked up techs for Denver Harden Powell and Kris Dunn did for Los Angeles I thought they handled it the right way Nuggets interim coach David Adelman reported I didn t think there was anything extracurricular after the fact that you could say was dangerous and I thought both teams were just going at it trying to win a event It all started when Braun intentionally reached in on Harden as he often does when the Nuggets have a foul to give at the end of the half Harden disapproved of Braun s aggression The veteran point guard got in Braun s face and their private conversation escalated hurriedly when Jokic and Gordon smelled trouble They both raced over trying to provide reinforcements for an incredulous Braun I took a take foul at the end of the half Something that we consistently do I think he was just a little frustrated with how I took the foul Braun noted And that s basketball It s good for the sport It s fun It made the contest more fun I think they rallied behind it I think we did too The response from both teams made the meeting really fun I think Harden was just kind of getting a little bit chippy with CB Gordon disclosed I think CB was doing a good job pressuring him And I can t let nobody step to my young fella so I was just running in giving backup This is what playoff basketball is about You see these teams every day or every other day You play them so countless times consecutively it s bound to get chippy Harden swiped at Gordon s face prompting Gordon to chase after Harden seemingly willing and ready to take a swing or two of his own Both players were ultimately held back in Gordon s matter by Clippers center Ivica Zubac The closest thing to a accomplished punch was Harden s open-handed jab The next-closest thing was Gordon on Powell though Powell seemed to move into Gordon s hand A closed-fist attempt to punch someone whether that makes contact or not would definitely fall under an ejectable offense Zarba announced confirming that the referees saw no such example while reviewing the brouhaha There were a lot of people in that scuffle Adelman reported You can define whatever you want to define with open hand all that stuff I don t think Aaron has a reputation of being that person But ironically if the rulebook is to be interpreted strictly the individual most of likely to face punishment from the league after further examination will be Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr one of the only players who wasn t involved in the circumstance Porter was on Denver s bench at the time and he briefly strayed onto the court before getting pulled back According to the rulebook all players not participating in the championship must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench and violators will be subject to suspension without pay for a minimum of one tournament and fined up to Porter never got close to the fight But he did leave the bench His Meeting fate might be decided by the league s discretion or lack thereof regarding the definition of immediate vicinity There is a historical parallel from NBA Playoffs history from back in The Phoenix Suns were seconds away from beating the San Antonio Spurs in Encounter of their Western Conference semifinal series when Robert Horry pushed Steve Nash into the scorer s table Phoenix s Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire temporarily strayed from the bench in the ensuing scuffle but did not engage Regardless both were suspended for Challenge of that series Of unit that was under a different commissioner David Stern and was just a couple of years removed from the majority of infamous fight in NBA history the Palace brawl Porter delivered a gutsy performance in Denver s Match win scoring points with a sprained shoulder He apologized afterward for wandering Related Articles Aaron Gordon dunks Nikola Jokic s air-ball for a photo-finish Nuggets win in Encounter Nuggets-Clippers Contest -pointers Michael Porter Jr shows true grit as Denver punches back in L A Russell Westbrook out with foot injury for Match between Nuggets Clippers Grading The Week Gabe Landeskog s comeback renewed our faith in humanity Our faith in the Avs We ll see Nuggets Journal Clippers fans on The Wall are itching to prove David Adelman wrong I didn t know the specific rule I didn t make it very far he mentioned That s what a gang is for That s what the coaches are for to pull you back It s an intense battle an intense moment I d had a double foul with Powell earlier And then to see my guys get in it like that I m just glad I didn t make it very far and that the coaches and my teammates were aware Harden has been guarding Gordon for preponderance of this series so they re seeing plenty of each other When they took their positions for the first possession out of halftime they could be seen having a friendly chat indicative of both teams overall attitude about the dust-up This is what we want This is what we re about This is what we work for Powell announced Tight intense playoff series No unit willing to give an inch No unit willing to back down So it s gonna get chippy We re gonna fight We ve got guys that like it Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis