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While Nikola Jokic sat at the scorer’s table waiting for the referee, he had not yet thought of a worst-case scenario.
While officials reviewed Swat in the third quarter on Suns goalkeeper Cameron Payne, he said he didn’t say anything to his teammates because he thought his quick criticism wouldn’t guarantee a Flagg 2.
“I thought, frankly… they wouldn’t fire me,” Djokic said following Sunday’s 125-118 loss to Phoenix that knocked the Nuggets out of the season thanks to a modest 4-0 sweep.
disbelief.
It was the same idea that Nuggets coach Michael Malone had. During the official review, Malone wandered to the second row of the seat as his assistants got the iPad ready.
“I just assumed — and we all know we should never — I just assumed it would be outrageous, at worst,” Malone said, still puzzled by the stewards’ decision to fire Jokic.
According to NBA official David Guthrie, when Jokic lashed out at Payne with 3:52 left in the third quarter, the officials saw “a closing, impact and follow-up, which resulted in unnecessary and excessive contact above the shoulders and also in the face,” he said. Guthrie said this meets the criteria for a Rocket 2.
Guthrie also added that Jokic’s subsequent breakup with Devin Booker played no role in their decision.
“Not particularly,” he said, “no.” “The red-handed was often judged based on his actions.”
Malone disagreed with the league’s interpretation of his fast pass, which knocked Djokic out of the game with the Nuggets dropping only 83-75.
“From my perspective and watching the replay, I didn’t think it was a game that wasn’t basketball with malicious intent,” Malone said. “I think it was the fault of frustration. I feel like Nicola might have sensed the last two plays when he got the ball, and he didn’t get the error call.
“He went there to make a mistake, which he’s done many times before,” Malone continued. “A lot of guys do that. I just didn’t feel like it called for Flagrant 2 to be sent off because he plays on the ball. I think there was marginal contact with Cameron Payne’s nose. I was shocked. I’m still a bit shocked that they fired Flagrant 2 and fired MVP in like This play.”
Before Djokic left the field to watch the quarter-finals in the locker room, he approached Payne in the middle of the field and seemed to apologise.
“I didn’t do that… I didn’t want to intentionally injure him or hit him on the head,” Jokic said.
Then for the second game in a row, Jokic apologized. After the third match, he apologized for not doing enough despite reaching records that were only matched by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. Then after the fourth match, he apologized for doing so much.
He said, “I shouldn’t do that.” “Of course, that was bad. I’m sorry.”
Jokic’s explanation after the match was that he was simply trying to change the tempo of the game as to how the whistles were called. Phoenix finished the night with 31 trips to the free-throw line compared to just 21 for Denver.
But in a rich turn of events, his colleagues gave him the best praise they had all year. They returned the favor after being dragged into the second round. They kept going, coming back from a 16-point deficit with 52 seconds left in the third quarter to a four-point game in the fourth.
Facundo Campazzo and Michael Porter Jr. discovered an offense that has eluded them pretty much on all series, while Will Barton, in just his third game from a serious hamstring injury, put together 21 of 25 points in the second half. The score was only 101-97 when underused JaVale McGee hit a free throw just before 8:01 from the left.
“They’re a really strong group of guys,” he said. “They don’t want to quit smoking.”
On the night their season ended, no one could claim that the Nuggets went smoothly. And for a series that’s never been particularly competitive, that’s probably all Jokic could ask for to finish his MVP campaign.
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Picture Credit!