As Mike Daigeneault admitted, the Denver Nuggets vs the OKC Thunder was chippy from the start. The early part of the game saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander throwing the ball at Nikola Jokic as the top-two MVP candidates squared up in the Western Conference Finals preview on Friday. However, the game’s biggest highlight was the late 4th-quarter altercation that led to Lu Dort’s ejection, a decision that so incensed Daigeneault, he fired off a message to the officiating crew moments later.

“These are two teams that have played in a seven-game series, are in the same division and played each other a hundred times,” he said in the post-game presser. “I will say this, if (an OKC player) is running up the floor and gets tripped, we expect Flagrant 2 moving forward. If that’s the precedent, that becomes a malicious play, and Flagrant 2 is the line we stand on that (we want the same call). If that’s the case, we’re good.”

With just over eight minutes left in the final period, Jokic casually jogged toward the opposite side of the court as the Nuggets prepared to inbound the ball. But Dort blindsided him, delivering what appeared to be a deliberate push while setting a screen, and even seemed to kick his right leg toward Jokic’s ankle.

After tumbling to the floor and rolling a few times, Jokic rose up enraged and charged straight at Dort. As Dort backed away, Jaylin Williams stepped in, escalating the tension into a full-blown scuffle between the Thunder and Nuggets. Referee James Williams ultimately called Dort’s action a Flagrant 2, leading to his immediate ejection.

The Nuggets coach, David Adelman, embraced a completely different narrative on the play. He sided with his player and defended Jokic for his reaction to Dort’s play.

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“I think his frustration is sometimes because the game is officiated differently out on the floor than it is near the basket,” Adelman said. “I think he was reacting to what was being done to him. When we play them again, whatever it is in like 10 days, I’m sure it’ll be the exact same way.”

The Nuggets and the defending champions will play two more games this season in the next two months. They will look to square things off with each other in the next game on March 9. But for now, the Thunder have clearly looked like a better team.

Thunder gets the last laugh, going 2-0 against Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets following an overtime thriller

In almost two months, the Nuggets and the Thunder faced each other for the second time this season. Two of the heavyweights in the league have a bigger point to prove when they face each other. In the psychological war for power over one another, the Thunder have so far maintained a clean record against Jokic’s team this season. The three-time MVP didn’t look like his dominant self and struggled against the Thunder’s top-notch defense.

On Friday, the Thunder won in overtime in SGA’s first game after his return from injury. In his comeback game, the reigning MVP scored 36 points. He also added 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks to lead his team to a 2-0 record against the Nuggets this season. SGA’s masterclass ruined Jokic’s triple-double, as Jokic had 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists in 45 minutes. However, he had a tough night on the scoring end.

The game went to overtime after the teams were tied at 107 at the end of regulation. However, the Thunder outscored the 2023 NBA champions by 20-14 to win the game. They will play one game each in March and April in the remainder of the 2025-26 regular season. But so far, the only legitimate threat to the Thunder is the San Antonio Spurs.