The Denver Nuggets are one step away from ending their season after losing on the court of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have made the home court advantage ‘stolen’ in Colorado and have caused the second consecutive defeat in Minnesota.
With everything already decided and with both teams practically doing the usual handshakes, Jaden McDaniels, the home team’s forward, scored an undefended layup with 2.1 seconds left to make it 112-96. This did not sit well with Nikola Jokic, the visitors’ center, who ran towards him to ask him for an explanation in a rude manner.
Jokic and Randle ejected for double technical
This, as expected, led to a brawl between the two teams, some to side with the Serbian and others, such as the members of the local squad and staff, to defend their teammate and try to calm things down. Unfortunately, the latter did not happen and the clash was stopped for several minutes: after going straight towards him, McDaniels grabbed Jokic by the shirt and a tumult of players ensued.
After reviewing the action in video arbitration, the referees decided to eject the Nuggets’ European star and, also for his active involvement in the fight, Julius Randle of the Wolves.
Different versions of this fact after the match
After the clash, the protagonists gave their version of events to the media. The Denver Nuggets giant was very brief: “He scored when we had stopped playing, you saw it,” he said.
McDaniels, smiling after a victory that brings Minnesota closer to the Western Conference semifinals, said that “the clock was still ticking”: “So I’m going to go score,” he said. When asked if Jokic said anything to him, the forward replied: “I don’t know what he said, to be honest. I just saw someone who was huge.”
I didn’t like what McDaniels did. In 2026 this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore, but that’s the way he is
On the other hand, David Adelman, Denver Nuggetscoach, criticized this fact in the press room: “I didn’t like what McDaniels did. The game was over… in 2026 that kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore, that’s something that happened in the 80s where teams kept scoring, but that’s the way he is,” the coach said.
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