When it comes to the unwritten rule of scoring when the game is clearly over, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is willing to police it.
As the Nuggets’ Game 4 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves was wrapping up, Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels got testy with the struggling Denver team.
The veteran forward took the ball down to the other end of the court for a wide-open layup and laid in a bucket. Jokic flew down over to McDaniels in frustration. Both teams got into a small, but heated, confrontation before the game finished.
“I don’t know what he said to me. I just seen someone that was big as hell,” McDaniels said, regarding Jokic. “The clock still be running, so I’m about to go score.”
Nikola Jokic Reacts To The Moment
McDaniels kept a straight face during his postgame scrum, but his responses were still more on the upbeat side and kept spectators chuckling.
As for Jokic, he seemed more frustrated for obvious reasons.
When asked why he approached McDaniels the way that he did, Jokic confirmed the obvious: “Because he scored and everybody stopped playing,” Jokic said, before getting annoyed at the question. “Come on, guys, you saw it, what happened.”
Nikola Jokic says he doesn’t regret his reaction to Jaden McDaniels’ layup at the end of Game 4.
With the criticism coming his way, along with a potential form of punishment from the NBA, does Jokic have any sort of remorse for it?
“No, I don’t regret it,” Jokic said bluntly. The star center made it known that he stands by the rule–as does his head coach.
“I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Adelman stated.
“The game was over, the game was conceded both ways. You know, in 2026, that stuff just doesn’t happen anymore. That’s something that happens in the ’80s, where teams would continue to score, but that’s who he is. If that’s what they want to do, then that’s what they want to do.”
The Nuggets have plenty of bulletin board material and advantages heading into their Game 5 matchup at home on Monday after a 112-96 loss. Soon, the NBA world will see if the Nuggets can force a Game 6–or if they’ll pack their bags and get bounced in round one.