The Nuggets’ late-season slog with the Thunder was bound to be confrontational: The protagonists have already traded a seven-game Western Conference semifinal and multiple hard-fought matches over the last year. Yet nothing in their common history in recent memory quite prepared hoops habitués for the chippy overtime thriller over the weekend. When the battlesmoke cleared, the defending champions eked out a 127-121 victory that could very well have gone another way and ultimately held significance beyond the final outcome.
At one point in the set-to, the Nuggets led by as many as 16 points and looked poised to stave off a resurgent Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, back from injury with 36 points, paced a comeback, while the visitors leaned on Jamal Murray’s 39-point outburst and Nikola Jokić’s triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists). In any case, the game’s defining moment came not in the final bucket or in a late defensive stop, but in a confrontation borne of frustration and borderline tactics.
With just over eight minutes left in the fourth, Jokić was jogging upcourt when Luguentz Dort, known for his suffocating defense and borderline physicality, stuck out his right leg, sending the Nuggets’ three-time Most Valuable Player awardee to the floor. The bench cleared, emotions flared, and a midcourt scrum had referees reviewing the incident. Fittingly, the instigator was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected.
Jokić’s reaction (a chest bump followed by an animated confrontation) was as revealing as the act that provoked it. “It’s an unnecessary move and a necessary reaction,” he said afterward, framing his response as instinctive, protective of himself and, no doubt, reflective of the competitive stakes at play. “I think there’s not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor,” he added, highlighting the manner in which certain aggressive gambits, even in the National Basketball Association’s modern era of loose cannons, cross an unseen line.
The incident likewise crystallized a broader narrative. Despite a predilection to outscore or outmaneuver rather than do battle in and through the trenches, the Nuggets had to confront the physicality that defines the Thunder’s brand of basketball. Head coach David Adelman acknowledged Jokić’s frustration, noting that big men invariably feel the brunt of contact that goes uncalled away from the basket. And, he suggested, this is true even for those who command as much attention as a seven-foot superstar.
For the Thunder, the ejection of Dort, whose reputation as a rugged defender precedes him, was both punitive and indicative of the league’s ongoing struggle to balance extremely physical defense with player safety. As crew chief James Williams noted, the contact was “unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury.” Which was true, to be sure. That said, also true was the ruling’s seeming departure from the norm; such borderline-dirty plays typically slip through the cracks.
For the record, it was Gilgeous-Alexander’s return and the Thunder’s depth that sealed the win in overtime. If nothing else, the result reminded all and sundry on whose mantel the Larry O’Brien Trophy resides. For the Nuggets, meanwhile, the loss exposed a concerning trend since Jokić’s return from injury: They have been horrendous in clutch situations.
Still, the lingering image from Paycom Center wasn’t that of a buzzer-beater or a clutch defensive stand. It was that of Jokić, mouth open in anger, standing toe-to-toe with Dort. And in a league that markets precision and flair, it was a grim reminder that, all too often, the game boils down to primal reactions and territorial pride.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
