THE NBA fined Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic $50,000 and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle $35,000 for their parts in an on-court fracas at the end of Game 4 of their teams’ first-round playoff series.
The fines were handed down by NBA Executive Vice-President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones on Sunday, one day after the Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets, 112-96, to take a 3-1 series lead.
Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels made an uncontested layup in the final seconds with the game already decided. Jokic ran from the opposite end of the court to shove McDaniels, prompting the altercation between the teams.
Randle was disciplined, according to the league, because he “escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum” to push Bruce Brown of the Nuggets. Both Jokic and Randle received technical fouls and ejections before the game went final.
There has been bad blood between the Western Conference rivals throughout the series. The Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets from the postseason two years ago.
Game 5 is on Monday in Denver. — Reuters
