Jokic confronts Lu Dort after trip in Nuggets-Thunder skirmish
Nikola Jokic was tripped late in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the contact sparked a heated confrontation. The trip and the ensuing skirmish — which began when Dort stuck out his leg and tripped jokic as he jogged up the court — led to a Flagrant 2 ejection and offsetting technical fouls.
Sequence of the on-court altercation
The sequence began in the fourth quarter when the Thunder had just scored and Luguentz Dort stuck out his right leg, appearing to hip-check or trip Nikola Jokić as Jokić jogged up the floor. A common foul was initially called. Jokić took exception, got back to his feet and angrily confronted Dort, putting his chest into Dort’s. Oklahoma City center Jaylin Williams came to Dort’s defense and exchanged shoves with Jokić during a brief altercation at midcourt as players and coaches from both sides rushed to the scene. It took a while, but the two were eventually pried loose from each other.
Lu Dort ejected for flagrant
After officials reviewed the footage, Dort’s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection. Jokić and Jaylin Williams were assessed matching unsportsmanlike technical fouls that were offsetting, and both players were allowed to remain in the game. Crew chief James Williams said in a pool report, “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. ”
Jokic’s words and officials’ view
Nikola Jokic spoke directly on the incident, calling it “Unnecessary move and a necessary reaction. ” He added, “There is no such thing — I think there’s not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor. So it was just an unnecessary move (by Dort) and a necessary reaction by me. ” Jokic said he was confident he would not be ejected because “I didn’t do nothing. ” When asked about the situation escalating between him and Williams, Jokic declined further comment, saying “it’s not worth it. ”
Officials and rulebook context
Officials determined that Jokić did not throw a punch when he took a swipe at Williams with his left hand. The NBA rulebook automatically punishes a punch with an ejection and a suspension of at least one game. James Williams also said, “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. Neither Dort nor Jaylin Williams were made available for comment by the Thunder after the game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returns from injury
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander marked his return from an abdominal strain with a 36-point performance as the Thunder beat the Nuggets 127-121 in overtime. The 27-year-old had been out of action since sustaining an abdominal strain on 3 February and missed nine games. Gilgeous-Alexander played 34 minutes on his return but remained on the bench in overtime due to a minutes restriction. “Felt good, ” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I’m just thankful to be back. ”
Game finish and individual lines
The game went to overtime after Jokić tied the game with 38 seconds left in regulation. Alex Caruso drove to the basket in the final seconds of regulation, but his shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer and sent the game to extra time. The extra five minutes were one-sided in favor of the Thunder, who scored the first five points in overtime and shut down the Nuggets for a 127-121 win.
Jokić finished with 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Jamal Murray led all scorers with 39 points, and only two other Nuggets scored more than seven points. For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes; Chet Holmgren finished with 15 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Thunder depth made a difference, with contributions and key plays from Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain.
Reactions and context from coaches
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. ” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault described the contest as chippy: “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. We’re in the same division. We know our playbook. They 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 a note about precedent: “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 only because a three-time NBA MVP was on the receiving end of the foul, Daigneault said, “I’m not going to answer the question like that. I said what I needed to say about it. ”
Aftermath and standings
The win keeps the Thunder at 46-15, two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the Western Conference. The Nuggets sit tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place at 37-23. The game was the Thunder’s sixth win in their past eight games.
Replay of the altercation drew strong reactions on social feeds, with one comment saying, “I will now have a nightmare tonight. You’re welcome. ” Nuggets coach David Adelman said in his postgame news conference that he still needed to rewatch the incident, which unclear in the provided context.
