At the end of an emotional game in which the Minnesota Timberwolves lost two players to injury, tempers flared and a pair of stars were ejected.
It started with just 1.3 seconds left in Game 4, when the outcome was already decided. But the Timberwolves, looking to burn the clock, tossed the ball up to forward Jaden McDaniels. Rather than dribble it out for the end of the game, McDaniels put up an uncontested layup to push Minnesota’s lead to 16 points.
Denver Nuggets All-Star center and NBA Most Valuable Player finalist Nikola Jokić took exception to the layup and rushed over from half court to confront McDaniels, eventually getting in McDaniels’ face.
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McDaniels grabbed Jokić by the jersey as the two got tangled up, leading to teammates and assistants getting in between the pair to break it up. The incident took place right in front of the Timberwolves’ bench.
Eventually, both players were separated, and both Jokic and McDaniels were ejected.
“Because he scored when everybody stopped playing,” Jokić said after the game. “Come on, guys, you saw it, what happened.”
Asked later if he regretted running up to confront McDaniels, Jokić shook his head and stressed that he didn’t.
The Timberwolves won the game, 112-96, taking a 3-1 lead over Denver in the first-round playoff series.
“I’m proud of the guys stepping up and fighting for each other, literally and figuratively,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters after the game. “These teams don’t like each other — it’s no secret. I mean, you play each other this many times when things are at stake … it’s just how it goes.
“When you play each other this many times, you’re gonna get these things. You just are.”
The NBA has strict rules about players who are not actively playing in a game leaving the bench area during altercations. Players who do leave the bench are subject to an automatic suspension of at least one game. Fines are also factored into the discipline for leaving the bench.
Initial video of the incident Saturday night showed that Nuggets star forward Aaron Gordon left the bench in an attempt to break it up.
“Obviously, I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Nuggets coach David Adelman told reporters after the game. “The game was over. The game was conceded both ways. In 2026 that stuff just doesn’t happen anymore. That stuff happened in the ‘80s, where teams would continue to score. But that’s who he is. And so if that’s what they want to do, that’s what they want to do. It has nothing to do with the win or the loss.”
“More importantly, no suspensions for us,” Adelman said. “I didn’t see anything out of line. Obviously, they’ll have the Hawkeye view of the whole thing, but from what I saw, from my standpoint, I saw Jok get into it with (McDaniels) toward the middle of the scrum, and then both guys were ejected.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikola Jokić, Jaden McDaniels ejected after fracas in NBA playoff game
