Nikola Jokic, the rising star of the Denver Nuggets, has been struggling with his offense lately and, for a moment, it seemed like frustration got the best of him when he was called for a technical foul after bumping Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks.
The 6’10” Jokic was on his way back to the Nuggets bench after a timeout was called with 32 seconds left in the game and the Wizards up by two points. Jokic had his head bowed down and his left hand covering his face when he came in contact with Brooks, who entered the court and was walking into the path of the Serbian big man.
Brooks immediately reacted after the bump and even approached a referee to complain. Jokic was then called for a technical foul in what is described by ABC News as “ a strange occurrence .”
Wizards guard Bradley Beal made the technical foul shot to increase their lead to three. Beal then made a layup after the game ensued securing the win, 109-104, for Washington. With 32 seconds left before the bump, it would seem like the NBA game has already been decided. However, the Nuggets had the momentum going into the timeout. According to Denver Stiffs , the Wizards were fired up after the bump .
A bump between Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Wizards coach Scott Brooks closed out Monday’s game in a bizarre fashion. https://t.co/183f6JJasA pic.twitter.com/58yyhxidc6
— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) October 24, 2017
Jokic and Brooks’ actions were met with mixed reactions. John Wall, the superstar point guard for the Wizards, did not appreciate Jokic’s actions.
“That’s something you don’t do,” Wall said. “No matter what’s going on between the players or teammates, that’s something you don’t do to a coach. It’s like me calling a coach a certain name.”
Denver coach Brendan Malone threw shade at Brooks saying he thought his Wizards counterpart embellished the bump a little. “I just watched it ten times,” Malone said. “Nikola said he didn’t do it intentional.”
Brooks addressed the “awkward, weird situation” by saying that he didn’t think Jokic bumped him on purpose. “But it happened,” Brooks said. “I’ve never had that happen before.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKMzLM7AhPR/?hl=en&taken-by=jokara95
The bump and resulting technical foul are the latest in a string of woes for Jokic. The 22-year-old NBA player came into the game with a couple of low scoring games under his belt. In fact, he went scoreless in their game against the Sacramento Kings, which followed a seven-point performance against the Utah Jazz. Despite his recent scoring struggles, Jokic led the Nuggets in rebounds and assists during that stretch. According to the Denver Post , Jokic indicated that he is not worried at all with his lack of point production.
“We were winning when I was on the floor so if I’m not scoring, who cares?” Jokic said. “The more important thing is that we win and I’m here to help my team win.”
Jokic broke out of his shooting slump by going for 29 points against the Wizards but, ironically, the Nuggets lost the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knCTnEPnzB0
[Featured Image by David Zalubowski/AP Images]
