A playoff atmosphere descended on Paycom Center tonight when the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Denver Nuggets. The physicality was at its peak, fouls happened, ejections flew, the tensions from their 2025 postseason battle boiled over. The altercation in the fourth quarter saw Lu Dort get ejected. But once the dust settled, OKC won 127-121, and Dort didn’t address the media, social media was in uproar.

Following a made basket, the Thunder forward appeared to deliberately move into the path of Nikola Jokic, tripping the three-time MVP and sending him crashing to the hardwood. Jokic looked menacing when he confronted Dort. The sight was so scary, players and coaching staff rushed in to him.

The multi-player scrum saw the Serbian center and OKC’s Jaylin Williams trade shoves and jersey-grabs. While both Jokic and Williams were assessed technical fouls, the officiating crew reserved the harshest penalty for Dort.

After a lengthy stoppage for the video review, Dort’s actions were deemed unnecessary and excessive. The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2, resulting in Dort’s automatic ejection.

Jokic, still holding on to the intense emotions from that altercation, said after the game, “Unnecessary move [by Dort], 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.”

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Among the ‘necessary reactions’ not limited The Joker’s outburst, Dort could be facing at mimimum a $2,000 fine. But after tonight, fans want even harsher punishment on the forward.

NBA Fans Demand Suspension for Dort

Not only Nuggets nation, but the majority of the NBA world also erupted as soon as the replay hit the screen. Most labeled Dort’s actions as a targeted attempt to injure the Nuggets’ cornerstone. The sentiment that this crossed the line from “physical defense” to “malicious intent” was overwhelming.

The lack of sportsmanship was a common theme, with a critic calling it a “CHEAP A– MOVE BY LU DORT” and another adding that there is “No room for this in the NBA.”

One fan summed up the frustration by stating, “Lu Dort plays a bad brand of basketball and if you’re on Twitter trying to defend him or whataboutism’ing this one you need to reassess your fandom.” The anger only intensified given Nikola Jokic’s recent history with a hyperextended knee and ACL scare, calling it a “Super dirty foul by Lu Dort here considering Joker’s knee injury earlier this year.”

The calls for Adam Silver to intervene multiplied, with many arguing that an ejection is insufficient for the excessive style of play. One person directly tagged the NBA Commissioner writing, “Lu Dort should get suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. set an example @adamsilver.”

Another echoed the sentiment for a league-wide crackdown, “Dort needs to be suspended. It’s enough of this crap, man.”

The latest in a series of incidents has significantly soured the rest of the NBA world’s perception of the defending champions. It was evident in comments like, “This OKC team is so unlikable. Lu Dort should be suspended. Taking out an MVP like this? GTFO, bum,” that fans feel the team’s competitive edge has turned toxic.

While most have already delivered a damning verdict of, “Lu Dort with an absolutely dirty play on Nikola Jokic,” the league office will likely to review the tape on Saturday. Now the pressure is on for a disciplinary ruling that matches the rage currently coming from the NBA community.