There might not be a more embarrassing play to be on the receiving end of than a nasty poster jam. And on Friday night, that's exactly what happened to San Antonio Spurs center Zach Collins after Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr threw down a filthy off-hand dunk right in Collins' face. Shortly thereafter, Collins took exception to Porter's purported taunt and shoved him from behind leading to a fracas that resulted in both of their ejections.
As a result, Michael Porter Jr. played in only 20 minutes, putting up seven points, one rebound, and one assist before heading off for the showers. Porter could have given the Nuggets a lift in their comeback efforts as they saw Nikola Jokic's triple-double winning streak come crashing down in a 128-120 defeat to the lowly Spurs.
Thus, it's no surprise to hear disdain in Porter's tone when he expressed his thoughts on his tussle with Collins.
“I think it was pretty clear, what happened. He got dunked on. My back was turned towards him, you know what I mean? Man, get in my face,” Porter said, per Vic Lombardi of Altitude TV.
Porter then proceeded to explain the rationale behind his ejection despite being on the receiving end of the shove while doing so with an incredulous smile on his face.
“They said I put my hand on his neck. But that's a natural reaction. He's lucky he didn't get hit being in my face like that. That's a split-second reaction,” Porter added.
At the end of the day, the Nuggets forward believed that Collins did not need to blow what should have been an incredible highlight out of proportion leading to their ejections.
“I don't think it had to get to that. I don't have anything against the dude, but if you get in somebody's face. Man, you know what I mean?” Porter said.
The Nuggets have now lost two straight games against teams with a below .500 record; with the playoffs looming, they will need to avoid falling into poor habits. But circumstances out of their control simply changed the way the game went tonight.