Nikola Jokic gets into heated preseason altercation with Luka Doncic’s new Slovenia teammate
· Yahoo Sports
Nikola Jokic got into it with Luka Doncic’s former Lakers teammate and soon-to-be Slovenian teammate in the Denver Nuggets’ preseason win.
Preseason is hardly the time for a lot of intense NBA games. Usually, stars don’t get into scuffles during these games, when they even play, as the focus is more on gaining match fitness and learning to execute the coaching plans for the upcoming season.
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It seems that Nikola Jokic did not receive the memo on that one. The three-time MVP earned himself a technical foul during the Denver Nuggets’ 117-106 win against the Utah Jazz. He got into it with an NBA star who he can expect to play internationally, too, if Serbia and Slovenia clash in the coming years.
Nikola Jokic picked up a technical for a hard foul on Jaxson Hayes
Jaxson Hayes has officially acquired Slovenian citizenship with intent to play for the team alongside Luka Doncic. On Tuesday, he got into it with Jokic. Hayes appeared to take exception to Jokic’s defensive contact and shoved the three-time MVP, who responded with a hard foul while going for the ball.
The incident occurred when the game was still fairly tight during the first half, with a clip going viral on social media.
Jokic has shown time and again that he is not one to simply accept physical play without retaliation. His issues with the Morris brothers stemming from a similar situation are well-known to most NBA fans. In this scenario, though, it simply seemed like the situation got extra physical without too much malice.
The superstar big man usually boasts of better stats than the opponents he tangles with. However, Hayes had seven points and four boards in the game, recording one point more and the same number of rebounds as Jokic. Add it to the list of unexpected developments during this surprisingly eventful NBA preseason.
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