Sacramento Kings guard Iman Shumpert was stopped from going into the Portland Trail Blazers' locker room by arena security after the Kings' 115-107 win on Monday night. Shumpert was allegedly angry at Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, who set a rock-hard screen in the first half.
Nurkic was in the right position, but slightly shuffled his feet in Shumpert's direction, nailing Shumpert near the head, which was about shoulder height given the six inches of difference between the two.
Asked of the conversation between him and Iman Shumpert, Jusuf Nurkic shrugged it off with yet another vicious shot:
“I'm not going to worry about it,” he said, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “He's going into retirement soon. I'm not going to worry about a guy who's going into retirement soon.”
Shump vs. Nurkic, who you got? pic.twitter.com/pdk7CJnzOn
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 15, 2019
For what it's worth, Blazers forward Evan Turner went to middle school with Shumpert and noted he knows where he's coming from, but hasn't known Nurkic to be a dirty player, according to Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com.
Both men have their differences when it comes to this play. Nurkic had to adjust to execute the play while Shumpert feels victimized by that adjustment, as it nearly clotheslined him into the hardwood.
Nurkic's response sounds like Shumpert had a little more to say during the rest of the game, warranting that type of response from an established starting center in the league.
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