Nuggets Still Upset With Thunder Over Luguentz Dort’s Flagrant Foul on Nikola Jokić

March 3, according , the Denver Nuggets remain upset with the Oklahoma City Thunder two days after Luguentz Dort committed a flagrant foul on Nikola Jokić. A team source stated the Nuggets are particularly unhappy with comments made by Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault following Friday’s game.

Nuggets head coach David Adelman addressed the incident before their home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, defending Jokić’s rare emotional outburst.

“Yeah, I think that’s just who he is,” Adelman said. “For the majority of the season, he’s a very measured individual — I think most people are. They’re more effective when they’re measured. But there are times with these games, and everything he takes on a nightly basis, anybody would react that way. For Dort to make a play like that — and I guess from their vantage point, from their stance, it’s not a big deal — it’s ridiculous.”

“It was flagrant. It was a dirty play. Luguentz Dort is a great player; I’ve never seen him do that before. But at some point, you have to stand up for yourself, and your team has to as well. They’re a great team. The game was what it was. But Nikola is who he is. You don’t have the success he’s had without being that competitive. He has emotion inside of him that he controls, but he’s fully capable and very willing to respond emotionally.”

Dort was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected. Daigneault appeared surprised by the call postgame.

“Here’s what I’ll say: if [Jaylin Williams] gets tripped running down the floor, from this point forward, we expect a Flagrant 2,” Daigneault said. “That’s it. If that’s the precedent, if that becomes a flagrant act where a Flagrant 2 is the floor, we expect it on [Williams]. We expect it on anybody. If that’s the case, we’re fine with it.”

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