The Portland Trail Blazers took a 14-point lead with just under six minutes remaining in Thursday night’s Game 6, a game they had to win to save their season and force a Game 7 in Denver, when things took a strangely violent turn between the two teams. Denver’s Will Barton freaked out a bit on Seth Curry as the Portland guard went to help a teammate get up off the floor. Barton gave Curry a good shove and then when Curry came back to have words with him, Barton appeared to push his finger into Curry’s eye. For real. Check it out for yourself: Will Barton puts finger in Seth Curry's eye WTF? pic.twitter.com/ECk1OwWi4h — gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 10, 2019 Will Barton booped him pic.twitter.com/hJCfL6mOYs — SB Nation (@SBNation) May 10, 2019 Seth Curry with a finger in the eye by Barton pic.twitter.com/K0ssd3Sv7b — Alan Ly (@theAlanLy) May 10, 2019 Four players received technicals for the scuffle but nobody was thrown out. Portland won the game, 119-108, which means we’ll have a Game 7 on Sunday. Which should be fun.<doc-sep>Steve Dykes/Getty Images Portland Trail Blazers guard Seth Curry called the Denver Nuggets "sassy" after the two teams engaged in a fourth-quarter confrontation during Game 6 of their NBA Western Conference second-round playoff series on Thursday. 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"[Barton] waited for a few people to get in between us, and when a few people were in between us, he put his finger in my eye," Curry told reporters postgame. "You know what I'm saying? I can't allow people to put their fingers in my eye. "That's real sassy. They got a few sassy dudes over there. Front-runners. And we can't allow that." Barton, Curry, Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins and Nuggets forward Torrey Craig received technicals for their roles in the altercation. Barton provided his response as well. "It ain't no beef," Barton said. "I wasn't even looking for that. I was just trying to protect myself. I guess he thought I was trying to stand on top of him and be tough. I was just trying to get out of the way before I got injured. He pushed me. I'm not going to let nobody push me. But that's nothing." Barton also doesn't think he'll be suspended for the series-deciding Game 7, which will take place on Sunday in Denver. "I ain't worried about no fines. I ain't trippin' off that. Hopefully, [there's] no suspension off that. I think if I [did something to get] suspended, I would probably have gotten ejected. "It's competitive playoff basketball," Barton added. "Some things are going to happen. If we are all out there just being friendly, it ain't going to look like nobody trying to win." The confrontation and postgame words almost seem inevitable given the series' intensity and competitiveness. Of note, the Blazers won a four-overtime matchup 140-137 in Game 3, and neither side has led by more than one game in the second-round faceoff. Both sides have also taken a road game in the seesaw battle. The Blazers have the series momentum after winning 119-108 on Thursday, but Denver was a league-best 34-7 at home this season. The Nuggets are 5.5-point favorites, per Vegas Insider.<doc-sep>Game 6 of the Nuggets-Blazers playoff series turned a bit “sassy.” Things got heated midway through the final period after Nikola Jokic was called for an offensive foul and the players got into a shoving match and had to be separated. After a review, there were offsetting technicals involving Denver’s Will Barton and Torrey Craig, and Seth Curry and Zach Collins for Portland. Curry used some colorful language after the game in describing the dustup in the fourth quarter, saying he was poked in the eye. “He waited for a few people to get in between us, and when a few people were in between us, he put his finger in my eye,” Curry said of Barton. “You know what I’m saying. I can’t allow people to put their fingers in my eye. “That’s real sassy. They got a few sassy dudes over there. Front-runners. And we can’t allow that.” Barton had a different version of events. “It ain’t no beef,” Barton said. “I wasn’t even looking for that. I was just trying to protect myself. I guess he thought I was trying to stand on top of him and be tough. I was just trying to get out of the way before I got injured. He pushed me. I’m not going to let nobody push me. But that’s nothing.” The Blazers, led by 32 points from Damian Lillard, pulled away for a 119-108 victory that forces a Game 7 back in Denver on Sunday. — With AP<doc-sep>
The stakes have been raised, so the war of words is heating up between the Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets following Portland’s win in Game 6 Thursday to force a deciding Game 7. After the game, Seth Curry was asked about an altercation in the second half in which Denver’s Will Barton charged the Blazers’ guard, and after they were separated, stuck his finger into Curry’s eye. Here’s the replay: Seth Curry and Will Barton got into a scuffle in the 4th quarter. pic.twitter.com/rvV3A2s7pQ — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 10, 2019 In his postgame comments, Curry didn’t mince words about what he felt was uncalled for contact and had some words for Barton and his Nuggets teammates: People's Champ with heel turn and the Three Stooges eye poke on @sdotcurry 'They got a few sassy dudes over there, front runners.' See ya Sunday for Game 7 in Denver #RipCity pic.twitter.com/edXNaML3w2 — Nick Krupke (@NickKrupke) May 10, 2019 “He waited for a few people to get in-between us,” Curry said after the game. “With some people in-between us, he put his finger in my eye. I can’t be letting people put their fingers in my eyes. That’s real sassy, you know what I’m saying? They got a few sassy dudes over there. Frontrunners. I can’t lie, though, we needed some toughness out there. After we got down a little bit, we played with an edge and got that win.” Looks like Curry got the last word ... for now. Game 7 tips off Sunday in Denver. – Tim Brown, The Oregonian/OregonLive | @timfsbrown Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox