The Nuggets suffered a brutal overtime loss to the Thunder on Friday night, in yet another game that they should have won and let slip away. The clutch problems persisted as well, as Denver had control of this game down the stretch before letting OKC crawl back into it, then falling in the extra period, even though the Thunder kept Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench.
But this great game between the two Western Conference favorites was largely overshadowed by a wild dust-up early in the fourth quarter. After the game had been physical and chippy for much of the night, the Thunder made a basket, and as the Nuggets started transitioning to the other end, Lu Dort backed into the path of Nikola Jokic, sticking his rear end into his body, and sticking out his leg to trip the Joker.
Jokic went down hard before quickly jumping up, looking as angry and intense as you’ll ever see him. Dort backed away immediately, but Jaylin Williams ran into to meet Jokic face to face. There was some pushing and shoving before both sides were ultimately separated, with the end result being a flagrant foul 2 and an ejection for Dort, while Jokic and J-Will received matching technicals.
After the game, Jokic was asked about the incident and sort of shook his head, saying, “It is what it is,” looking almost incredulous. He then said, “It’s an unnecessary move and a necessary reaction. 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 and a necessary reaction by me."
Jokic’s composure saved him from disaster
Although Jokic was clearly and rightfully extremely fired up, he did a great job not letting his emotions get the best of him. He said what he needed to say but held back from throwing a punch or escalating this into a brawl. They lost anyway, but getting tossed would have been disastrous and playing right into OKC’s hands.
Trying to get in the Joker’s head may be part of the Thunder’s strategy, and it almost worked, but the three-time MVP is too disciplined for that. Any type of fight would have led to a suspension, which would cost the Nuggets during a tight playoff race for seeding, would have ended any hope for Joker winning MVP or making All-NBA due to missed games, and would have robbed Denver of these fleeting opportunities to get in a rhythm as a team before the postseason starts.
Having said that, Dort’s actions have always been right on the edge of dirty, and he’s had plenty of questionable moves over the course of his career. This one was right up there with the worst, and it was a pretty clear, blatant, cheap shot that could easily have injured Jokic and ended his season.
Hopefully, the league realizes that and takes care of this issue. They should be thrilled that Jokic showed restraint and didn’t take matters into his own hands, because this could have gotten very ugly.