Denver Nuggets interim coach David Adelman called out the officiating crew for a lack of fouls called against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic's primary defenders in the club's 111-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
"...Nikola gets fouled a lot," Adelman said to reporters after the Game 6 defeat. "I'm not sure what was happening. But for him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy. They put smalls on him. Those smalls were allowed to do whatever they want, so I'm really excited for Saturday [Game 7] that we're gonna be able to do the same thing with their best players.
"Because if that's the physicality we're allowed to play with, we'll react to it. And we will go there in Game 7."
Jokic finished the game with 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, sinking 11 of his 22 shot attempts from the field. Despite his aggressiveness on offense, Jokic had just two trips to the free throw line.
It's been a physical, chippy series between the two clubs, and Thursday's game was no different. In fact, the officiating crew seemed content to let things play out on the floor for both the Nuggets and Clippers, as there were a combined 24 trips to the charity stripe, by far the lowest total in any game of the series thus far.
The Clippers gave Jokic a variety of looks in Game 6, with center Ivica Zubac handling the brunt of the work against the Serbian big man, and Nicolas Batum also taking on the tough defensive assignment.
Jokic shot 5-for-14 with Zubac as his primary defender, according to ESPN Stats and Info. But Adelman, who was not subtle in voicing his complaint, believes such defense on Jokic was overly physical.
Game 7 between the Nuggets and Clippers is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Ball Arena.
More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nuggets Coach Decries Nikola Jokic's Lack of Foul Calls: 'Absolutely Crazy' .
