Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Heat forward Markieff Morris both got ejected in a Denver Nuggets win over the Miami Heat on Monday night and they’ve built themselves a really intense rivalry if they want it to keep going.
With just 2:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Morris elbowed Jokic in the midsection at half court, attempting to make a hard foul, which he really did, and turned his back… This was apparently a big mistake, as it took just a second for Jokic to react. He ran into his back with his upper arm/shoulder, almost like an angry buffalo, and it took just a second for Morris to be knocked down on the floor.
WATCH IT HAPPEN:
Morris was down in pain, and Jokic was being pushed away by teammates. The game was paused for a while, as the Medical personnel brought a stretcher onto the floor but Morris was able to get up and walk off the floor on his own.
This really pissed off Miami All-Star Jimmy Butler, as he was calling out Nikola Jokic from the Heat bench to meet him in the locker room after the game, while Nikola was sitting calmly on the bench, not paying much attention to the threats.
Jokic finished the game before it ended as he was ejected for this incident, but managed to score his standard stat-line with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a Nuggets 113-96 win.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 31 points and got a technical foul for calling out Jokic to continue this fight in the locker room.
Markieff Morris was assessed a flagrant foul and ejected, and he also received Medical treatment: “We wanted to make sure Kieff was and is OK. We’ll find out more,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said of the apparent neck injury. “He’s moving around right now in the locker room. But that was a very dangerous, dirty play.”
Jokic felt really bad after the game for reacting impulsively: “I felt bad, really bad,” Jokic said. “I felt I just needed to protect myself but on the other hand I’m not supposed to react that way, get thrown out of the game,”
How will this drama continue we will need to wait and see as the two sides are playing again at the end of the month.
"*" indicates required fields