Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic got chippy during the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets Game 5 matchup. The 34-year-old power forward was given a technical foul for shoving the Serbian hooper.
Toward the end of the third quarter of Tuesday’s (May 10) contest, the two-time MVP and his teammate Bruce Brown attempted to get into the Suns’ huddle while Devin Booker shot free throws. Durant, in an attempt to keep his opponents out, shoved Brown and Jokic. The latter of whom flailed his arms which caught the referees’ attention and lead to KD’s technical foul. Notably, the Nuggets’ star did not react at all when Suns center Jock Landale also shoved him.
After reviewing the play, the referees also gave Brown a technical foul for “unsportsmanlike actions toward the Phoenix bench.” After the matchup, Jokic joked about his teammate’s actions and how they would’ve been able to shoot technical free throws if he didn’t provoke the Suns and gotten handed a foul.
Monty Williams, the Phoenix Suns head coach, wasn’t as pragmatic about the situation. “The league has to figure out all that stuff, man,” Williams said. “There’s just too much silliness going on in the NBA when it comes to that. Everybody does it, and it should be like a written rule that you shouldn’t walk over to somebody’s huddle.”
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns 118-102 and took a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinals series.
