Paycom Center turned into the focal point of basketball fury on Friday. Nikola Jokic took all the spotlight as he reacted aggressively to Lu Dort’s nudge that threw him on the floor in Q4. Jaylin Williams added to the brawl, and officials handed out ejections and technical fouls like freebies. However, the audience required some clarity on the referee’s decisions in those moments. And crew chief James Williams delivered.

The NBA released Friday’s pool report, where Williams faced a series of tough questions. Primarily, the officials wanted to know why the game referee ejected Dort but did not eject Jokic. The first query addressed the refs’ decision to upgrade the OKC Thunder forward’s foul to a Flagrant 2.

” Lu Dort was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2 because we deemed his contact on Jokic to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury,” James Williams said. “And also because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve. So, by rule, a flagrant foul penalty 2 carries an automatic ejection.”

With 8:03 left in Q4, OKC led by 2. Christian Braun controlled the ball while Nikola Jokic jogged lightly behind the play. Meanwhile, Thunder forward Lu Dort stood in the Serbian’s path and nudged him. The contact sent Jokic crashing to the floor.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

However, what followed stunned everyone. The usually calm and composed Joker lost his cool, and frustration quickly took over as tensions began to rise on the court.

Jokic charged at Lu Dort. At the same time, Braun rushed in, trying to separate them. Then, OKC’s Jaylin Williams stepped in, grabbed Jokic’s jersey, and the 31-year-old appeared to seize Williams’ head. Cameras caught Jokic saying something to Williams, anger clear on his face. Eventually, players, referees, and coaching staff intervened. Officials assessed a Flagrant 2 on Dort and ejected him, while Jokic and Williams received technical fouls.

Then one might imagine why both Jaylin Williams and Nikola Jokic didn’t receive severe punishments like ejection. James Williams clarified, “When we reviewed that play, we did not see any actions by either player that would have risen to the level of an ejection, which is why both players received unsportsmanlike technical fouls that were offset.”

Now, following the incident and the 121-127 loss in OT, the Nuggets‘ big man, Nikola Jokic, spoke up about his tiff with Lu Dort.

Nikola Jokic speaks up about the ruckus

The Joker posted yet another triple-double (23/17/14) on Friday. However, the brawl and the loss overshadowed his glory. Meanwhile, he spoke to the media after the game and made his feelings clear about the on-court incident with Lu Dort. “Unnecessary move, and a necessary reaction. There is no such thing — I think there’s not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor. So it was just an unnecessary move and a necessary reaction by me.”

At the same time, early in the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picked up a technical foul after voicing his frustration over what he believed was high contact from Nikola Jokic that went uncalled. As the night wore on, the temperature kept rising. By the third quarter, the officials also hit the Denver bench with a technical, with constant jawing and subtle shoves turning the matchup into a war of nerves as much as skill.

Crew chief James Williams also addressed SGA’s tech in the pool report. Jokic’s left forearm seemingly pushed the 2025 MVP, who then threw the ball at Jokic. So, the question is, why did Shai get a tech but Nikola didn’t? “We did not believe the contact by Jokic’s left forearm rose to the level of an unsportsmanlike act, therefore he was not assessed a technical foul,” Williams explained.

Chaos wore sneakers in Oklahoma City. What began as a shove spiraled into ejections, offsetting technicals, and a rulebook masterclass from crew chief James Williams. Meanwhile, Lu Dort walked out, Nikola Jokic stayed, and Jaylin Williams shared the blame.