Viral and hilarious Jokic, Van Gundy skirmish must be addressed by the league

A million things happened in the final few minutes of regulation and overtime of the wild game one matchup between the Nuggets and Clippers. The game went back and forth, with a bevy of players, both stars and unsung heroes, making big play after big play.

Denver ultimately pulled off the massive 112-110 win after the extra session to take a 1-0 lead in what figures to be a tightly-contested first-round playoff series. Russell Westbrook and his unbelievable moments stole the spotlight in game one, along with a number of other storylines, but one moment passed by quickly and flew under the radar a bit in real time.

With just over 30 seconds to go in regulation, the Clippers had the ball with a one-point lead. Kawhi Leonard was holding the ball, well beyond the three-point line, when Jamal Murray made an incredible play to poke the ball out of Leonard’s hands, off of Leonard, and out of bounds into the Clippers' bench.

Nikola Jokic, as he is wont to do, ran to grab the ball and get it back in play before LA could challenge the call or set their defense. But in a shocking and nostalgic twist, Clippers assistant coach and NBA legend, Jeff Van Gundy, held onto the ball and wouldn’t let go, leading to a brief wrestling match between JVG and Jokic.

NBA can’t allow non-players to delay the game

This was an objectively hilarious and lighthearted moment. It harkened back to a moment 27 years ago when Van Gundy dove at Alonzo Mourning’s leg and clung on for dear life during a fracas on the court. This time, it was a dead ball he was clinging to, but he showed equal strength, shockingly holding his own in the tug of war with Jokic.

But as funny as this was, it’s insane that there was no punitive action taken. An assistant coach was blatantly delaying the game, buying his staff and players extra time, and risking a possible injury for any of the parties involved.

The Clippers challenged the play and lost, so the Nuggets kept the ball. They obviously went on to win, so this moment may seem harmless and funny in hindsight, but it’s a dangerous precedent to set.

Jokic and David Adelman both commented on the play, essentially saying they didn’t realize that was allowed, but apparently it is, so they should take advantage of this lack of rule. This isn’t something the league wants to entertain, and they don’t want to see players and coaches wrestling over the ball every time it goes out of bounds. 

Although this was hilarious, they need to step in and do something before we see an actual injury or a game impacted. We saw it happen a few years back with Jokic and Suns' owner Mat Ishbia, and now we're seeing it again with an assistant coach. Please, NBA, put an end to this madness.