With just 1.3 seconds left on the clock, the game was already decided in all but name. But the moment that followed made sure nobody remembered the score. Jaden McDaniels drove in for what looked like an uncontested layup. It should have been routine.  Instead Nikola Jokić took immediate exception, sprinting back toward McDaniels. And thats when Randle got involved. 

Randle was the first one to barge in between Jokic and McDaniels with equal intensity, and that’s how he even got caught in the crossfire. Out of four playoff games on the night, that viral clip of Jaden McDaniels holding the Serb by his jersey superseded everything. Next and most importantly, the league took just 6 hours to review and issue its verdict on the Target Center mass brawl. 

Jokic has been fined $50,000 and Randle $35,000. It was ESPN’s Shams Charania who previously reported on the investigation, including interviews with involved players and officials and a review of the footage.

The NBA announced on Sunday, “Jokic initiated the incident by confronting and shoving Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. Randle escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard-forward Bruce Brown.” So, what does Jokic think about this entire series of events, though?

The Serb finished Saturday with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists, but he connected on only 8 of 22 shots and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. His frustration towards McDaniels also stems from the fact that the Wolves star had called out the entire Nuggets team by name and stated they were bad defenders. The Joker stayed firm in his stance on charging aggressively towards his rival.

“I don’t regret [going after McDaniels],” the MVP finalist stated. “Because he scored, and everybody stopped playing. Come on, guys. You saw it.” He believed there was an unwritten rule to let the clock run out, and it was not about firing up his teammates. That’s why the league put a bigger fine on him. Fortunately, both will be eligible to play when the series resumes on Monday with Game 5 in Denver. The question is, why was McDaniels not punished?

It’s simply because he didn’t start it or escalate it; he did nothing but defend himself and stand his ground. In this scuffle, only Jokic and Randle were assessed techs and ejected. We have previously seen that Draymond Green has faced multiple suspensions for escalating on-court incidents, including a one-game playoff suspension in 2023.

In fact, the Warriors star was also suspended for five games in the 2023-24 season for forcibly grabbing Gobert around the neck. The incident in Game 4 did not escalate to that level physically. But Game 5 could have been very different if the league had leaned towards harsher punishments.

Not just Nikola Jokic and Julius Randle, four other stars avoid suspensions

With Donte DiVincenzo sustaining an Achilles tear and Anthony Edwards suffering a bone bruise on his knee, the series already looks different. The Nuggets will be confident that they hold an advantage and will look to overturn the 3-1 deficit. But suspensions could’ve further complicated Denver’s already fragile position.

Tempers flared on the sidelines in front of the Timberwolves’ bench, as Aaron Gordon and Jonas Valanciunas left the Nuggets’ bench and crossed half-court during the altercation. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Bones Hyland stepped onto the court from the Wolves’ designated area too.

The NBA rules state that players must “remain in the vicinity of the bench” during an on-court incident or be subject to an automatic suspension. Had that happened, it would’ve opened the door wide open for Denver to win another game. However, nobody else was punished. The league did not provide any reasoning for that either and closed the case.

The Nuggets will try to overcome this big a deficit for the first time since the 2020 playoffs. That year, they did it twice, the first team in NBA history to overcome multiple 3-1 series deficits in a single postseason. It is going to be a tough ask because NBA teams are 285-13 in series all-time when holding a 3-1 lead. We’re going to need a Joker special.