P.J. Washington was also involved, shoving Nurkic during the melee. Nurkic, Marshall and Washington were ejected after the scuffle. After the game, a few Mavericks took a similar tone while discussing the matter, playing up the theme of protecting each other’s teammates.

Specifically, Suns center Jusuf Nurkic and Mavs wing Naji Marshall threw actual blows. Well, Nurkic's was more of a slap, though it still far exceeded the standard of what we refer to as a "fight" in NBA parlance.

Television viewership is down from this time a year ago. This matters to Kevin Durant, a 14-time All-Star who's seen what the NBA can do.

Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant wants to help the NBA in revamping its viewership amid Christmas Day success.

But Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant can't seem to wrap his head around people pointing fingers at the players for the league's declining ratings. Instead, the former league MVP thinks the game has just hit a temporary "rough patch.