Nikola Jokic does everything in his power to win, especially in the playoffs. This is what makes him the best player in the world and the main reason why the Denver Nuggets, despite their topsy-turvy 2024-25 campaign, must be taken seriously as a threat to make a deep playoff run. But on Monday night, the Nuggets fell short in Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-102, despite Jokic's best efforts.

Jokic put up 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in 43 minutes of play and yet Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers had the last laugh. The Clippers pushed the Nuggets so far that Jokic may have resorted to some underhanded tactics just to get an advantage in a series where the two teams involved barely have any separation between each other.

The reigning MVP found himself posted up against Norman Powell late in the third quarter. Powell is listed as eight inches shorter and nearly 70 pounds lighter than the Nuggets star. However, a simple nudge from the Clippers wing knocked Jokic down, prompting fans to clown Jokic on social media for his flopping ways.

“this is DISGUSTING. norman powell should be banned from the nba for life this potentially fatal foul on the much smaller and lighter jokic,” X user @jaxxb3005 wrote.

“Best player in the sport has to resort to flopping every play. Embarrassing work,” @nutman121 added.

“Harden and Shai getting crucified for foul baiting when this guy’s 10x worse,” @spoonlocks furthered.

Clippers fans then felt vindicated that Jokic missed the two free throws he took as a result of the foul that was whistled on Powell.

“BALL DONT LIE,” @MirjamSwanson wrote.

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This, however, wasn't the only flop Clippers fans are accusing Jokic of; late in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets star fell from a bump from James Harden that Jokic simply may have sold to the officials as something more serious than it was.

This hotly-contested first-round series is now tied at 1-1, and Game 3, which will be at Intuit Dome, will be on Thursday night at 10 PM E.T.

This Nuggets-Clippers series might go the distance

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

4-5 matchups are typically the most competitive in the first round of the playoffs, and this Nuggets-Clippers matchup is certainly proof of that. The combined margin of victory thus far has been five points, and Game 2 nearly went to another extra period the way it did in Game 1.

At the very least, the stars for both teams are showing up; Nikola Jokic had himself a triple-double, while Kawhi Leonard was as close to automatic as he can get, scoring 39 points on 15-19 shooting from the field. This series has all the makings of an all-time first-round classic, and anything short of seven games of this series would be a bummer to the neutral fan.