Okc Thunder skirmish as okc thunder win in overtime after Dort trip
The okc thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 127-121 in overtime on Friday in Oklahoma City, a game that was overshadowed by a fourth-quarter skirmish after Lu Dort appeared to trip Nikola Jokić. The incident led to Dort's ejection and offsetting technical fouls on Jokić and Jaylin Williams.
How the sequence unfolded
A skirmish broke out in the fourth quarter when Nikola Jokić was jogging up the floor after Oklahoma City scored and Lu Dort stuck out his right leg, tripping him. The initial call on the play was a common foul. Jokić got back to his feet and immediately confronted Dort, putting his chest into the Thunder wing. Oklahoma City center Jaylin Williams came to Dort’s defense and the two exchanged shoves during a brief altercation at midcourt. Players and coaches from both teams rushed to midcourt, it took a while, but the two were eventually pried loose from each other.
Officials' rulings and explanations
After officials reviewed footage of the incident, Dort’s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection. Jokić and Jaylin Williams received matching technical fouls that were offset, and both were allowed to remain in the game. Crew chief James Williams said, "Lu Dort was assessed a flagrant foul penalty (level) two because we deemed his contact on Jokic to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury. And also because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve. " He added, "When we reviewed that play, we did not see any actions by either player that would have risen to the level of an ejection, " which is why both players received unsportsmanlike technical fouls that were offset.
Jokic and others react
Jokić, typically reserved, was blunt about the contact: "Unnecessary move and a necessary reaction. " He said he was confident he would not be ejected because, in his words, "I didn't do nothing. " When asked about the situation escalating between him and Williams, Jokić declined to comment, saying, "it's not worth it. " Officials determined Jokić did not throw a punch when he took a swipe at Williams with his left hand. The NBA rulebook states that a punch is automatically punished by an ejection and suspension of at least one game. Nuggets forward Cam Johnson said, "I didn't see it because my back was turned at the time. But obviously, it was a cheap shot enough for (Dort) to be thrown out, so they took care of it. " Neither Dort nor Jaylin Williams were made available for comment by the Thunder after the game.
Okc Thunder overtime details
The extra five minutes favored the okc thunder, who shut down the Nuggets in overtime to secure the 127-121 victory. The game went to overtime after Jokić tied the game with 38 seconds left in regulation. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, making his return from an abdominal strain, led Oklahoma City with 36 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes, though he missed all of overtime because of a minutes restriction. Chet Holmgren finished with 15 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. OKC's depth — including contributions from Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain — factored into the win.
Final stats and standings
Nikola Jokić finished the game with 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Jamal Murray led all scorers with 39 points. Only two other Nuggets scored more than seven points. Denver had led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter before Oklahoma City rallied. The victory keeps the 46-15 Thunder two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the West, while the Nuggets are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place at 37-23.
Further replay showed a side of Jokić that was described as frankly terrifying by those who viewed the footage. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called the contest a chippy game and offered context on the rivalry: "If you were watching the game, I think you could see very clearly, very early that it was a chippy game. These are two teams that played each other in a seven-game series. We’re in the same division. We’ve played each other 100 times. They know our playbook. We know their playbook. It just is what it is. … I know Lu. I know Jokic. I know J-Will. I don’t think anybody was trying to hurt anybody. They’re just great competitors. It just boiled over. I think it was nothing more than that. " Daigneault added, "I will say this. If a player (for us), if J-Will is running up the floor and gets tripped, we expect a flagrant two from this point forward. That’s all. If that’s the precedent, if that becomes a malicious play and flagrant two is the line in the sand on that, we would expect that if it’s J-Will. We would expect that if it’s anybody. " When asked if he was insinuating Dort was ejected because a three-time MVP was on the receiving end, Daigneault said, "I’m not going to answer the question like that. I said what I needed to say about it. " Nuggets coach David Adelman said he still needed to rewatch the incident.
Friday night’s game combined playoff-style intensity, a late regulation tying basket by Jokić, a physical confrontation that produced a Flagrant 2 ejection for Lu Dort, offsetting technicals for Jokic and Jaylin Williams, and an overtime in which Oklahoma City's depth closed out the 127-121 victory.
