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Isaiah Joe of the Oklahoma City Thunder gets in between Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The same moment produced two very different reactions.
After the Denver Nuggets fell 127–121 in overtime to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a physical, emotionally charged game that included the ejection of Luguentz Dort, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander embraced the intensity as a sign of playoff-level basketball.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, meanwhile, pushed back on the idea that frustration fueled the flashpoint, downplaying both the altercation and his own reaction afterward.
Gilgeous-Alexander Welcomes Nuggets Physicality in Playoff-Style Test
Gilgeous-Alexander returned from a nine-game absence due to an abdominal strain and immediately made his presence felt, scoring 36 points to help Oklahoma City outlast Denver in one of the Thunder’s most intense games of the season.
Rather than focusing on the controversy, the reigning MVP framed the night as a necessary test between two familiar opponents.
“It was great — the physicality,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Two teams wanted to win really badly, and they were going at it. They’re obviously a high-level team. We’re a high-level team, and we’ve seen each other a lot over the past couple of years.”
“End-of-season basketball is like that — it’s chippy, it’s physical. So it was good to get one of those in the regular season.”
From the Nuggets’ perspective, that physicality reached a boiling point at a critical moment and shifted the flow of the game.
Dort Ejection Becomes Fourth-Quarter Turning Point in Nuggets Loss
With 8:03 remaining in the fourth quarter and Oklahoma City holding a 90–88 lead, Dort was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected for tripping Jokić during a loose-ball sequence.
Officials ruled the contact unnecessary and excessive, triggering an automatic ejection. The play escalated briefly, with Jokić and Jaylin Williams exchanging shoves and each receiving an offsetting technical foul.
The Nuggets struggled to regain offensive rhythm in the aftermath, while the Thunder rallied despite losing one of its top perimeter defenders.
Gilgeous-Alexander declined to analyze the incident itself, instead defending his teammate’s intent.
“Lou got thrown out, and Lou’s not that type of guy,” he said. “He’s just trying to go out there and win. I didn’t really see what happened, but yeah — it’s all good.”
Jokić Pushes Back on Frustration Narrative
Jokić finished with a 23-point, 17-rebound, 14-assist triple-double, but was careful not to let the altercation define his night.
“It is what it is,” Jokić said. “I’m not really going to comment on it. It was an unnecessary move and an unnecessary reaction. I think there are not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor.”
When asked directly whether he thought he might be ejected following the exchange, Jokić was blunt.
“I didn’t do nothing,” he said.
He also rejected the idea that the moment stemmed from frustration.
“It’s a basketball — it’s an emotional game,” Jokić added. “You’re going to have ups and downs. So I’m not sure that I was frustrated.”
Jokić acknowledged reacting in the moment while stopping short of criticizing the officiating — a measured response consistent with Denver’s approach in high-stakes situations.
Officials Explain Why Dort Was Ejected and Jokić Wasn’t
Crew chief James Williams detailed the ruling in a postgame pool report.
“Lu Dort was assessed a Flagrant foul penalty 2 because we deemed his contact on Jokić to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury,” Williams said.
“Also, because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve.”
Williams added that neither Jokić nor Jaylin Williams committed actions rising to the level of an ejection, resulting in offsetting unsportsmanlike technical fouls.
Nuggets Leave OKC With Lessons, Not Excuses
Despite the chaos and despite Oklahoma City sitting Gilgeous-Alexander for overtime as a precaution, Denver couldn’t fully capitalize.
The Nuggets struggled to generate consistent offense in the extra period, allowing the Thunder to pull away late. For a Denver team with championship aspirations, the loss served as a reminder of how thin the margin can be in playoff-style environments.
Gilgeous-Alexander saw the night as a necessary rehearsal.
Jokić saw it as part of the emotional ebb and flow of the game.
Both perspectives can be true, and both offer insight into how these teams might handle the pressure if they cross paths again, with the stakes even higher.
Alder Almo is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
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