NBA Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic hit Markieff Morris in the back on November 8, 2021.
During Miami Heat’s game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, November 8, Markieff Morris was hit with a cheap shot by Nikola Jokic. A stretcher was brought out, as it was unknown whether or not Morris could get himself off the court.
The Nuggets had a sizable lead against the Heat in the fourth quarter, but Jokic, who’s 6-foot-11 and 284 pounds, approached Morris and violently pushed his shoulder into the Heat player’s back with just two minutes and 39 seconds left in the game.
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While a stretcher was thankfully not needed for Morris to exit the game, he “walked to the locker room with an apparent neck injury. We will provide an update on his status when we receive it,” Miami Heat’s official Twitter account revealed.
Here’s the video of the play
The Nuggets won 113- 96, but only after both Morris and Jokic were ejected from the game.
Jokic, 26, was ejected following the push and Morris, 32, was ejected because the veteran’s hard foul was ruled a Flagrant 2, per Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Butler received a technical as he yelled at Jokic.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra gave an update on Morris during the post-game conference. “He’s moving around right now,” Spoelstra said. “But we’ll do the necessary tests, whatever we need to do just to make sure that he’s OK. That was a dangerous and dirty play.”
Nikola Jokić in hitting Markieff Morris: it was a stupid play. I feel bad. I’m not supposed to react that way…I thought it was going to be a take foul but I thought it was a dirty play and I needed to protect myself
Spoelstra also doesn’t believe Morris’ foul was a Flagrant 2. “I thought ‘Kief took a foul and it was one of those fast-break take fouls. And he did it with his shoulder. You might deem that maybe as a little bit more than just the slapping stuff,” Spoelstra said per Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman. Right after I watched it on film, it was a take foul. That’s how I saw it.”
As for Jokic, “I felt bad for real,” he said. “Someone showed me the clip and I saw his head snap back. I feel really bad. It was a reaction. It’s a bad move.”
Heat Players Skipped the Postgame Conference
“Unnecessary and excessive.”
Will Manso and Ruth Riley Hunter weigh in on the tempers flaring during the end of the @MiamiHEAT‘s loss to the Nuggets tonight.
Following the game, no Heat players were made available for comment during the postgame conference. It seems the bulk of the Heat’s roster was too riled up to speak to the media following the 2020 NBA MVP’s nasty hit on their teammate.
No Heat players are being made available for comment after tonight’s game. So Spoelstra interview and that’s it.
It’s largely expected for suspensions to be handed out by the league following the violent display on the court. Beyond the unfortunate ending to the game, Miami’s offense absolutely fell apart at the Ball Arena in Denver.
Point guard Kyle Lowry went scoreless, missing all eight of his shot attempts. Center Bam Adebayo scored 10 points, going 3-of 10 on shooting. Tyler Herro, who’s been spectacular off the bench, scored just 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
The lone bright spot was five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who scored 31 points on Monday night. The Heat are now 7-3 as they head into their upcoming West Coast road trip. The 113-96 loss is their most lopsided defeat of the season.
.@MiamiHEAT coach Erik Spoelstra on the offensive struggles, the contentious ending to the of tonight’s game against the Nuggets.
Only Spoelstra spoke to the media following the game. “I think just overall, offensively, we weren’t very good. A lot of our guys weren’t able to get into a great rhythm.
“We never were able to get traction on the game. And some of the turnovers early on, and the lack of detail offensively hurt us. But then defensively, we just never grabbed control of the game.”
Jokic Was a Huge Problem for the Heat on Monday Night
GettyNikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets is introduced during pregame against the San Antonio Spurs at Ball Arena on October 22, 2021, in Denver, Colorado.
Even before Jokic’s cheap shot on Morris, the three-time NBA All-Star had dissected the Heat’s defense. Jokic had a triple-double, scoring 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on Monday night.
Nuggets’ Will Barton also seemed to easily navigate his way through Heat’s defense, scoring 25 points, 7-of-9 on threes. Denver scored 64 points in the first half alone, the most the Heat has allowed in any half this season.
Making Denver’s dominant win even more worrisome, they were playing without two of the top players on Monday night, Jamal Murry and Michael Porter Jr., both of whom were ruled out due to injuries.
Mark your calendars for a revenge game later this month. The Heat will once again face the Nuggets on Monday, November 29, at the FTX Arena in Miami.
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