The NBA has fined Nikola Jokić and Julius Randle following the late-game scuffle between the Nuggets and Timberwolves at the end of Saturday night’s Game 4.
Jokić was fined $50,000 and Randle $35,000 for their roles in the on-court altercation. Both players were ejected as part of the skirmish, but no suspensions were handed out after the league's review. Jokić took exception to Timberwolves wing Jaden McDaniels taking a layup when the game was all but over with 1.3 seconds left. He sprinted across the floor to confront McDaniels only to get grabbed by the jersey as chaos ensued. Randle got himself in the middle of the action and aggressively went after Jokić, which brought the ejection and subsequent fine.
You can watch the dust-up in its entirety below:
No punches were thrown, so it's not a shock that the altercation didn't rise to the level of any suspensions, which could have drastically altered the outcome of the series. The Timberwolves are now dealing without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo and can’t afford any further absences, while Jokić is critical to the Nuggets’ success as Denver now finds itself on the brink of elimination down 3–1 to Minnesota.
What players were involved in the Timberwolves-Nuggets tussle?
Jokić and McDaniels started the action. The latter called out numerous Denver players including Jokić earlier in the series by calling them bad defenders. The action was right near the T’Wolves bench, which caused a big crowd to rush around Jokić and McDaniels. Randle was heated at Jokić's decision to go after his teammate, so he got right in the middle of the mess and earned an ejection. The NBA also fined Randle for escalating the incident by forcefully inserting himself and shoving Bruce Brown, while Jokić's fine is for initiating the whole situation.
Aaron Gordon and Jonas Valančiūnas were seen amongst the crowd near the Minnesota bench, which is significant because they were not in the game at the time. NBA players are not permitted to leave their team’s bench area for any reason during if an altercation unfolds on the court. The consequences for doing so are an immediate suspension and hefty fine, which the league did not decide to hand out in this case. A suspension for Gordon would have been significant as the Nuggets battle to keep their season alive Monday night back in Denver while the Wolves deal without Edwards and DiVincenzo.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Announces Punishments for Nikola Jokić, Julius Randle After Nasty Nuggets-Timberwolves Scuffle.
