Lu Dort was ejected for a cheap shot on Nikola Jokic in the previous meeting between the Nuggets and Thunder 10 days earlier, which meant Monday night there were a lot of eyes on the duo.
They saw Dort pick up another flagrant foul for a shot to the face of Jokic.
After the game, Dort said he apologized to Jokic, with the quote via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“Just lost in the competition… But shook his hand, [said] ‘great game’ and I apologized that that happened…
“I didn’t mean to hit him in the face. But when I go over screens and stuff like that, my arms are just everywhere, and then unfortunately I just hit him in the face. … I didn’t think it was a flagrant 1. Unnecessary means I did [it] on purpose, which I didn’t.”
When asked postgame if he thought Dort’s actions on this play crossed the line, Jokic said “no.” That is different from the previous game, when, after a hip check to knock Jokic to the floor, the Serbian big man got up and got in Dort’s face.
The two instant classics between the Thunder and Nuggets in the past 10 days has fans hoping for a seven-game playoff series between these sides. If that happens, all eyes will be on the Dort and Jokic interactions.
On Monday night, Jokic was his peak self with another triple-double: 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. Yet it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s night as his step-back 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left earned the Thunder the win.
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