The Denver Nuggets fell 127-121 in overtime to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night at Paycom Center in a physical contest that escalated in the fourth quarter.
The flashpoint came when Lu Dort was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Nikola Jokic, triggering a scrum near midcourt and offsetting technical fouls on Jokic and Jaylin Williams.
“It is what it is, you know. I’m not going to comment. It’s unnecessary move and a necessary reaction,” Jokic said postgame. “There is no such thing. I think they’re not supposed to be those things in the basketball floor. So, it was just unnecessary move and a necessary reaction by me.”
Asked whether the play stemmed from earlier exchanges, the three-time MVP pointed to the tone of the matchup.
“We know they are chippy. They are handy. They are a little bit, you know, on the edge, but you know, I think we responded well,” he said.
The altercation capped a night filled with technical fouls and extended reviews in a matchup between teams that met in last season’s Western Conference semifinals.
Jokic finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists but shot 9-of-25 from the field and 2-of-10 from three, missing three triples in overtime.
“I think we had open look, you know, I missed two threes and they’re kind of, you know, three threes actually. So, it happens, you know,” he said. “I think our defense was really good and through the whole game, you know, we gave them different looks.”
Denver led 83-77 entering the fourth before Oklahoma City surged, and the game was tied at 107 at the end of regulation.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points in his return from an abdominal strain, though he did not play in overtime.
Jokic pointed to transition defense and late execution as the difference.
“I think they were they scored like eight points in transition basically,” he said. “We couldn’t make a shot in the end of the end of the game and and you know over time.”
On the final possession of regulation, he suggested patience might have helped.
“Even the last possession Jamal had a good maybe we should wait a little bit less a little bit more to take a last shot but you know it is what it is,” he said.
When asked if he feared an ejection during the review, Jokic replied, “I think I didn’t do nothing.”
He declined to address whether Jaylin Williams escalated the situation, saying, “I’m not going to comment it’s not worth it.”
Despite the loss, the Serbian center emphasized progress since the All-Star break.
“I think after All-Star we kind of trending in the right direction like I said,” he said. “Sometimes team has a don’t play well but I think we were playing well we just didn’t win games.”
Denver, now 37-23 and fourth in the West, hosts Minnesota on Sunday.
