Nikola Jokić took a bad loss and made it look worse in the waning seconds of Game 4 against the Timberwolves. Minnesota overcame the loss of Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo on Saturday night to beat Denver 112-96 and take a 3-1 series lead. Then there was an incident.
Jokić took great exception to Jayden McDaniels taking a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining and sprinted the length of the court to confront him about it, nearly causing a fight in the process. While he may have been trying to send a message about the unwritten rules of basketball, he just made the Timberwolves look like the bigger team after a game where they looked like the better team despite losing two of their best players.
The NBA would be well within its rights to suspend Jokić for Game 5, but probably won't because, in the end, no punches were thrown. Instead, Jokić and Julius Randle were both ejected at a point in the game that meant nothing to anyone, except apparently Jokić.
Let's watch what transpired and then recap what happened in the moments leading up to the incident.
The problem with unwritten rules is that it's hard to explain when exactly a team is supposed to stop trying, especially when the other team is still playing. In this case, Jokić was still in the game in the final seconds despite the fact that everyone knew the game was over. The three-time MVP missed a three-pointer with 42.5 seconds remaining, and then the Nuggets, trailing by 12, intentionally fouled Ayo Dosunmu, who went to the free throw line to score points 40 and 41.
Then the Timberwolves continued to play defense, and Rudy Gobert fouled Jokić, who went to the free-throw line to make two charity shots of his own.
At this point, the Timberwolves had a 108-96 lead, and Chris Finch took a timeout. When the Timberwolves inbounded the ball, the Nuggets continued to play defense and eventually fouled Dosunmo again with 17.5 seconds remaining. He again made two free throws.
At this point it was a 14-point lead and the shot clock had been unplugged for the night.
Jokić and Jamal Murray were still in the game, and they continued to play until Murray took his final shot with 10.4 seconds remaining in the game. Only then did the Nuggets decide it was time to stop playing basketball.
As chronicled above, there were multiple opportunities for the Nuggets to officially wave the white flag by taking out their best players. Dosunmu basically put the nail in the Nuggets' coffin when he hit a three give the Wolves a 12-point lead with 1:30 remaining. Instead, the Nuggets kept fouling on one end and playing basketball on the other without ever even getting it to single-digits.
Unsurprisingly, Nuggets coach David Adelman, who ignored all those chances to take out Jokić, blamed McDaniels after the game.
David Adelman:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 26, 2026
"I didn't like what McDaniels did. The game was over...in 2026 that stuff just doesn't happen anymore that's something that happens in the 80s where teams would continue to score but that's who he is" pic.twitter.com/6pPOIB5Uwx
"I didn't like what McDaniels did," said Adelman. "The game is over. The game was conceded both ways. In 2026, that stuff just doesn't happen anymore. That's something that happens in the 80's, where teams would continue to score, but that's who he is. So if that's what they want to do, that's what they want to do."
Asked for his take on the situation on the game, Jokić kept it simple, saying, "Because he scored and everybody stopped playing."
That's it. That's the tweet.
Again, this team was playing eight seconds earlier and had given a take foul on the previous trip down the floor. At some point, you have to take a step back and realize what the egregious act committed here was—a layup. Do you hear how silly that sounds?
Did an MVP and former champion really almost start a bench-clearing brawl over a layup? Who knows what Jokić set out to prove in that moment, but he didn't do it. The Timberwolves had already lost Edwards and DiVincenzo. Was he trying to start something that might get a few more Minnesota players suspended for Game 5? Right now, that seems like the only way the Nuggets have a chance.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nikola Jokić Looked Silly in Scuffle With Jaden McDaniels as Nuggets Lose Game 4.
