Nikola Jokic Addresses Heated Viral Moment in Nuggets vs Thunder

In the midst of the Denver Nuggets' tight contest with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, within it came a tense moment between Nikola Jokic and Jaylin Williams following a controversial move from Lu Dort in the fourth quarter.

With eight minutes to go, Dort made a move towards Jokic that caused the Nuggets big man to trip and hit the floor, which would eventually lead into a heated encounter with Jokic and Dort, then leading to Williams approaching Jokic for a bit of a back-and-forth between the two.

Full sequence: Luguentz Dort sticks his leg out, hitting Nikola Jokić in the foot, trips him, and sends to the floor.
Jokic confronts Dort as Jaylin Williams intervenes, grabbing Jokic's jersey.

Result: Dort ejected upon review, Jokic and Williams with offsetting techs, and… pic.twitter.com/xuM1tsaAok
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) February 28, 2026

Inevitably, it would lead to a Dort flagrant two-foul, an ejection of the Thunder wing, and two free throws from Jokic before eventually moving forward with the contest, and eventually leading to a crushing overtime loss for Denver, 121-127.

After the game, Jokic spoke to the media discussing the encounter he had with Williams in the second half, ultimately feeling that his reaction to Dort's maneuver was warranted.

"Unnecessary move, and a necessary reaction," Jokic said post-game. "There is no such thing — I think there's not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor. So it was just an unnecessary move and a necessary reaction by me."

Hear from Nikola Jokić after tonight’s game. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iLowAczOdk
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) February 28, 2026

Nikola Jokic Defends Reaction to Lu Dort's Controversial Trip

Sometimes after similar spats like Jokic had been involved in, players may walk back and feel as if their reaction in the heat of the moment might've gone a bit overboard. But Jokic stuck to his guns post-game and felt as if he was more than justified to stand his ground against Williams and the Thunder.

When asking head coach David Adelman about the play Dort made and the aftermath to follow, he credited the reaction as part of the game's high intensity and emotions, but didn't exactly see the move as malicious like Jokic and officials may have seen it themselves.

"I need to rewatch what happened with Dort. They said that the play looked malicious. I didn't see it," Adelman said. "Obviously, that's how the officials saw it. Obviously, Nikola reacted to it. It was an emotional game. ... We play against each other a lot."

Feb 27, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (15) during overtime at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Regardless, Jokic was able to play on and put together a monster stat line in the process despite the overtime loss against the defending champs. He finished the game playing 45 minutes for 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists, leading Denver in total plus-minus on the night with +15.

The end result couldn't pan out in their favor, but lucky for both Jokic and the Nuggets, they'll have a couple more meetings ahead in the regular season order to settle the score. One looms in just under two weeks on March 10th, and another at the tail end of the season in April that might be able to really set the tone before the postseason officially gets underway.

And if this game proved anything, those should both be contests on the horizon played up to playoff-level intensity as this one showed out to be.