Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic looked the worse for wear on Thursday night after being on the receiving end of a nasty elbow from Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. The reigning league Most Valuable Player had to quickly exit the game after he was bloodied up by the violent turn of events.

Here is a look at the Nuggets star taking the full force of what looks like a very painful elbow from Jackson (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):

Ouch. That definitely hurt.

After being attended to by the medical team, Jokic was able to return to the game. However, there's no denying that the scenes in Denver were pretty gory:

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Upon his return, Jokic dawned a red headband. His new look actually fits the Nuggets star:

This is a big game for Jokic and Co. as they try to take down a surging Grizzlies side. A guaranteed playoff spot is on the line for the sixth-placed Nuggets, with the Minnesota Timberwolves just two games behind Denver in the standings. The sixth seed automatically qualifies for the playoffs while the seventh seed will need to go through the Play-In tournament. Not even a vicious elbow is going to take Jokic out of this one.