Friday night's NBA slate featured a bout between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The two teams have developed a rivalry in recent years, and with each matchup, the games seem to get more and more intense.
Tensions boiled over on Friday when Nuggets center Nikola Jokic ran up the court. Thunder's Lu Dort backed into Jokic, sending him tumbling to the floor. Jokic stood up and chest-bumped Dort angrily. Jaylin Williams attempted to intervene, and he and Jokic exchanged shoves and grabbed each other's jerseys before officials and team personnel separated them.
The normally mild-mannered Jokic took a moment to address the tense situation postgame.
“Unnecessary move, and a necessary reaction,” said Jokic. “There is no such thing — I think there's not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor. So it was just an unnecessary move and a necessary reaction by me.”
Tensions boil over in battle between Nuggets, Thunder
Following a video review, officials upgraded the foul on Dort to a flagrant 2, triggering an automatic ejection with 8:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. Crew chief James Williams stated the contact was unnecessary, excessive, and carried a high potential for injury. Jokic and Williams each received technical fouls for their roles in the ensuing scrum.
Lu Dort was ejected after appearing to trip Nikola Jokic on this play.
Nikola Jokic and Jaylin Williams both received technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/ZFyNHpigsM
— ESPN (@espn) February 28, 2026
Despite the fourth-quarter scuffle, Jokic would record a triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists. Jamal Murray led Denver in scoring with 39 points over 47 minutes.
The Nuggets would ultimately come up short, falling in overtime 121-127.
The Nuggets and the Thunder will face each other two more times before the end of the regular season. With the way things played out on Friday, the last two games between these teams are gearing up to be absolute cinema.
