NBA Referee Comments on Nikola Jokic, Lu Dort Scuffle in Nuggets-Thunder

The Denver Nuggets suffered a crushing 127-121 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, unable to pick up a huge road win over the defending champs. As expected, though, there were plenty of fireworks in Oklahoma City in the high-powered matchup.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic certainly had his issues with how the Thunder were physical with him, as there were two events that set the Serbian center over the edge. After the game, NBA official James Williams was asked questions in a pool report about both instances.

SGA throws the ball at Jokic

Just three minutes into the game, Jokic arm-checked Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the whistle, and as the reigning MVP was sent into the air, he threw the ball right at Jokic. As expected, Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a technical foul.

Shai picked up a tech just 3 mins into the game after throwing the ball at Jokić 😳 pic.twitter.com/zLh83IZorq
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 28, 2026

In the NBA's pool report, crew chief James Williams was asked, "Why was [Nikola] Jokić not called for a technical foul for the post-whistle contact before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw the ball at him in the first quarter?"

Williams responded, "We did not believe the contact by Jokić’s left forearm rose to the level of an unsportsmanlike act, therefore he was not assessed a technical foul."

NBA Referee James Williams Comments to a pool reporter after tonight's Denver at Oklahoma City game: https://t.co/YtgKN9TIWk
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) February 28, 2026

This was an out-of-character play by Gilgeous-Alexander, although there was some contact by Jokic after the whistle. But as Williams assured, the contact by Jokic did not even warrant a technical foul, so Gilgeous-Alexander was out of line by throwing the ball at him in retaliation.

A scuffle between Jokic, Dort, and Williams

While the play between Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander made things heated enough, that was not the worst of it. In the fourth quarter, Thunder guard Lu Dort unnecessarily body-checked Jokic as he was running back on offense after a made OKC basket. This sent Jokic to the ground, but he was not down for long, as he quickly got up and charged at Dort.

Lu Dort was ejected after appearing to trip Nikola Jokic on this play.

Nikola Jokic and Jaylin Williams both received technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/ZFyNHpigsM
— ESPN (@espn) February 28, 2026

As Jokic got in Dort's face, Thunder big man Jaylin Williams stepped in to help out his teammate, and Jokic quickly shifted his attention to Williams, even grabbing him and appearing to attempt to hit him.

Dort was ultimately ejected due to a flagrant 2 foul, while Jokic and Williams were both assessed technicals. In the pool report, James Williams was asked, "Why was [Luguentz] Dort’s foul upgraded to a flagrant 2?"

Williams answered, "Lu Dort was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2 because we deemed his contact on Jokić to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury, and also because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve. So, by rule, a flagrant foul penalty 2 carries an automatic ejection."

Lu Dort with an absolutely dirty play on Nikola Jokic.

No room for this in the NBA.pic.twitter.com/Ft4z5QQwtu
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 28, 2026

They also asked about the double technical foul on Jokic and Williams, and why neither player was ejected like Dort: "Why was the physical confrontation between [Nikola] Jokić and [Jaylin] Williams not deemed worthy of an ejection for either player?"

Williams responded, "When we reviewed that play, we did not see any actions by either player that would have risen to the level of an ejection, which is why both players received unsportsmanlike technical fouls that were offset."

The budding rivalry between the Nuggets and Thunder continues to grow, and when the players get into it like this, it is no surprise that these teams seem to dislike each other so much. For fans' sake, a playoff rematch would be incredible.