Wizards' John Wall decks Jusuf Nurkic in retaliation (Video)
John Wall wasn’t taking any crap from Jusuf Nurkic in the Washington Wizards’ Thursday night matchup with the Denver Nuggets.
It’s been another frustrating season for the Washington Wizards. After finishing 41-41 and missing the playoffs last year, the 2016-17 campaign was supposed to be different.
The Wizards had traded for Markieff Morris at last season’s deadline, brought in Ian Mahinmi in free agency and re-signed Bradley Beal to a mega-deal over the summer. Ideally, all signs were pointing to a return to the playoffs after showing so much promise there in 2014 and 2015.
Unfortunately, it’s been more disappointment for the Wizards and their franchise star John Wall. Despite Wall’s 23.6 points, 9.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, Washington finds itself sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference standings with a paltry 8-13 record.
After Wall dropped a career-high 52 points and still came up short in an eight-point loss to the lowly Orlando Magic Tuesday night, reports emerged with direct quotes from the star point guard, giving the world a glimpse at his frustration with the situation in D.C.
The Wizards were able to get back in the win column Thursday night with a seven-point win over the floundering Denver Nuggets, but with all that tension mounting, it wasn’t surprising to see him strike back when provoked.
With his team up by seven early in the third quarter, Wall was chasing his man Jameer Nelson around a screen set by Jusuf Nurkic and wound up in the paint switched onto the Bosnian Bear. Nurkic, who’s rapidly becoming known for his physical-borderlining-on-dirty style of play, gave Wall a nice little hip check that sent him stumbling.
Wall didn’t take too kindly to that, and though the official had already seen the bump and was whistling Denver for the offensive foul, the Wizards’ star point guard made sure to let Nurkic know he wasn’t about to take any kind of crap like that:
Wall earned a technical foul for his body check from behind, but it could’ve been a lot worse and may incur a fine from the NBA if the league decides to take a closer look at the play.
While Nurkic clearly initiated the incident with a cheap shot, Wall took things to another level. He finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but shot just 5-of-14 from the field.
Wall was ejected in two consecutive games earlier in the season, and is starting to look like his fellow Kentucky Wildcat DeMarcus Cousins in letting his temper get the best of a bad situation. If the Wizards want to make the playoffs and keep their best player on the floor, it starts with winning games and hoping his mood stays a little more positive.
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