A third quarter incident during Friday night’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs led to a pair of players having their nights come to an early end. With seven minutes left in the frame, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. drove to the rim and threw down on Spurs big man Zach Collins.
It looked like Porter had something to say to Collins after the dunk, which did not sit well with the former Gonzaga standout. Before the ball was inbounded, a referee blew his whistle to apparently call a technical foul on Porter for whatever he said. But things escalated when Collins approached him, bumped into him, and eventually, the two went face-to-face. While a full-blown fight did not break out, there was plenty of jawing and some pushing and shoving, which eventually led to a number of teammates, coaches, and referees breaking things up.
Porter did put his hand around Collins’ neck, but otherwise, nothing particularly nasty happened in the altercation. Eventually, both players were assessed double technical fouls, which sent them to their respective locker rooms. Collins had 10 points and nine rebounds at the time he was ejected, while Porter put up seven points on the evening.
