OKLAHOMA CITY — After Friday’s 127-121 win in overtime, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gave his honest opinion on Lu Dort’s fourth-quarter ejection for his scuffle with Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic. The two had to be separated, which led to a physical altercation between Thunder center Jaylin Williams and Jokic. The two centers were hit with double technical fouls, while Dort’s night ended in the fourth quarter.

After the win, Daigneault addressed Dort’s fourth-quarter ejection while reminding reporters of how familiar his Thunder team is with the Nuggets, coming off their seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals.

“That was a chippy game. These are two teams that played each other in a seven-game series. We’re in the same division. We’ve played each other 100 times,” Daigneault said. “They know our playbook. We know their playbook. It’s just what it is. It’s going to be an imperfect game, and things escalate like that sometimes. I know Lu [Dort]. I know [Nikola] Jokic.

“I know J-Will. I don’t think anybody’s trying to hurt anybody; they’re just great competitors. That just boiled over. I think it was nothing more than that.”

One could argue that Nikola Jokic took his frustration from Lu Dort’s flagrant-2 out on Williams, who defended his teammate, as most centers do in the NBA. It most likely factored into the referees’ decision to keep Jokic in the game, slapping him and Jaylin with double technical fouls.

Daigneault’s only hope is that if the situation were reversed, Jokic would have been the one heading to the locker room due to a flagrant-2.

“I will say this: If J-Will is running up the floor and gets tripped, we expect a flagrant-2 from this point forward. That’s all,” Daigneault added. “If that’s the precedent, if that becomes a malicious play, and flagrant-2 is the line in the sand on that, we would expect that if it’s J-Will. We would expect that if it was anybody. And if that’s the case, we’re good.”

Williams finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block off the bench before closing out the Thunder win in overtime.

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Mark Daigneault on Thunder’s SGA missing overtime

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the third quarter at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault sat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in overtime of Friday’s win against the Nuggets. Coming off an abdominal injury that forced him to miss the Thunder’s previous nine games, Gilgeous-Alexander was on a minutes restriction that went unannounced ahead of the defending champions’ showdown against the Nuggets.

Daigneault explained what factored into the Thunder’s decision to keep Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench after the fourth quarter.

“He’s coming off a 24-day injury. There’s a return to play. One of the conditions of getting him on the court tonight is holding him at a certain point, minutes-wise,” Daigneault said. “We actually discussed that situation with both him and [Hartenstein] before the game. Just so we’re all clear in a non-emotional moment, that if we were in that situation, that’s what we would do.

“We obviously did it. I understand it’s a little unorthodox, but, at the end of the day, we’re trying to prioritize the health of our players as they come back from an injury.”

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals keyed a 16-point comeback by the Thunder in the second half before the defending champions closed out a win without their reigning MVP in overtime.