Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets and Julius Randle of the Minnesota Timberwolves have been fined $50,000 and $35,000 respectively by the NBA following a heated altercation during Game 4 of their series, the league announced on Sunday.
The incident erupted with just 1.3 seconds remaining in Minnesota’s decisive 112-96 victory over the Nuggets on Saturday. The tension began when Timberwolves guard Mike Conley secured a rebound and passed to Jaden McDaniels. Despite the game being effectively over, McDaniels chose to drive for a layup instead of running out the clock. This action prompted Jokić to confront McDaniels, feeling that the unwritten rules of the game had been breached.
As Jokić approached, McDaniels grabbed his jersey, sparking a melee involving players, coaches, and officials rushing in to intervene. While most were attempting to calm the situation, the NBA identified Randle’s actions as escalating the conflict by aggressively entering the fray and pushing Denver’s Bruce Brown. Both Jokić and Randle received technical fouls and were ejected from the game.
In post-game comments, Jokić expressed his frustration, stating he was irritated by McDaniels “scoring when everybody stopped playing.” Meanwhile, McDaniels, reflecting on the confrontation, mentioned he was unclear about what Jokić had said during their exchange.
“I don’t know what he said, to be honest. I just saw someone that was big as hell coming toward me,” McDaniels remarked.
Nuggets coach David Adelman also voiced his displeasure over McDaniels’ decision to take the shot.
“I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Adelman told reporters. “The game was over…in 2026 that stuff just doesn’t happen anymore, that’s something that happens in the ’80s where teams would continue to score, but that’s who he is.”
The Wolves forward, who previously ruffled some of the Nuggets’ feathers for calling out their “bad defenders,” explained his thought process simply: “The clock still be running, so I’m about to go score.”
Ahead of Game 5 on Monday, in which Minnesota will be without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo due to injury, the good news (for both teams) is that no one got suspended as a result of this kerfuffle. Down 3-1 in the series, the Nuggets will be fighting — figuratively! — for their lives.
