Sunday night, the Indiana Pacers destroyed the Portland Trail Blazers in a 129-98 blowout win. Although he didn't play in the loss, Blazers' Jusuf Nurkic made headlines Sunday night just moments after the final buzzer.
The Portland center was caught on camera confronting a heckling Pacers fan. Nurkic gets very close to the fan before snatching his cell phone out of his hand and throwing it towards the stands.
Nurk 😳 pic.twitter.com/xFKNChXGli
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 21, 2022
Two days after the incident, the NBA tweeted a statement on the situation. According to the league's release, Nurkic was fined $40 thousand for his postgame actions.
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/tN4IJ1ks3k
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 22, 2022
A lot of things were likely affecting Nurkic's mood that night. The Blazers lost by 31 points and he couldn't do anything to help. The fan's courtside heckling made the situation even worse.
While it's hard to hear from the video, a recent report states that the fan allegedly insulted Nurkic's mother and late grandmother. Senior NBA insider Chris Haynes tweeted the update Tuesday afternoon.
The fan who Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic confronted in Indiana allegedly shouted “your mom is trash” and said his “grandma’s a b**tch,” league sources tell @YahooSports. Nurkic’s grandma passed away of COVID-19 in 2020.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 22, 2022
Nurkic hasn't played in the Blazers' last 12 games due to plantar fasciitis. He has been dealing with the condition in his left foot since September and is expected to be out until at least April 1.
Meanwhile, the Blazers will attempt to turn their season around without the star center. Portland has lost ten of its last 12 games without Nurkic, falling to 27-44 on the season.
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