James Harden and Aaron Gordon have shoving match after Christian Braun foul; Nuggets vs Clippers Game 4

James Harden and Aaron Gordon got into each other's faces during Clippers vs Nuggets game 4 after a Christian Braun reaching foul.

James Harden and Aaron Gordon have shoving match after Christian Braun foul; Nuggets vs Clippers Game 4

Aaron Gordon and James Harden got into a fight at the end of the first half of Clippers vs Nuggets Game 4 (Image via Imagn)

Tempers have been flaring during the NBA playoffs in each series this year. A lot of physical play is being allowed by the referees with the postseason rolling around. Nuggets vs Clippers was a series that was affected by this, even in previous games. James Harden and Aaron Gordon became the latest to have a faceoff in game 4.

Harden had possession of the ball for the Clippers and was on course to attempt the final shot of the half. With 7.8 seconds left on the clock, Christian Braun fouled the 2017-18 NBA MVP while reaching in. While doing so, he also made the type of bodily contact that James Harden took exception to.

Harden got into Braun’s face, mouthing some NSFW words while admonishing the youngster for his over-the-top play. Braun started laughing it off as Harden shaped to shove him away after getting in his face. Braun’s teammate Aaron Gordon arrived at the scene quickly to have his back. He attempted to shove Harden, inadvertently making contact with his face.

This escalated the situation as both Harden and Gordon attempted to get back at each other. Braun ended up pushing Harden as well. However, before the situation got out of hand, teammates arrived for both the Clipper and his Nuggets opponent. Ivica Zubac grabbed hold of Gordon, while Harden was subdued by Nicolas Batum and Norman Powell. Braun himself was held back by Michael Porter Jr and other teammates.

However, there was quite a lot of contact made by players to each other’s faces. In particular, Gordon connecting with Powell’s face was a motion replayed several times on the Jumbotron at Intuit Dome. Home team fans were irate after watching it, demanding Gordon to be ejected.

Powell, Gordon, Nikola Jokic and Harden were all assessed with technical fouls during the scuffle. The referees understood the assignment of finding justified ways of keeping the stars on the floor. Referee Zach Zarba announced that no player would be ejected for the incident as there was no closed-fist contact. His announcement was met with aplomb by NBA fans at Intuit Dome and online.

NBA fans react to James Harden-Aaron Gordon scuffle, praise refereeing decisions

There was a large amount of guesswork in the minutes that followed the scuffle. NBA fans and media alike had some strong opinions to get off. Many people took exception at both Braun and Gordon’s actions during the kerfuffle.

They also expressed sympathy for Powell receiving a technical foul despite being a defuser in the situation.

Overall, Zach Zarba and the crew earned praise from everyone for keeping the players in action. Dwyane Wade himself chimed in soon after the decision was announced.

Gordon and Harden found each other after the second half started and cleared their differences. The bad blood of that singular incident did not appear to convert into added physicality based on the second-half play till the time of writing.

The Clippers trailed the Nuggets 61-67 at the time of writing. Jokic led all scorers with 22 points, and was aided by four 3-pointers from Porter Jr, who had 15 points in total.