The clash of the MVPs Nikola Jokic and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander was another fiery affair; however, Lu Dort still managed to grab the headlines. Last time he was ejected and later apologized for going overboard with his physicality. Previously, the Nuggets’ head coach came to his players’ aid with an emotional rant, but now he is tired of the Thunder repeating the same mistakes.

“I’m done talking about that,” David Adelman said to the media after the game. “It’s every time we play them. So, you’ve got to move past it. His (Dort) arm flailed. It happened to catch him (Jokic) in the face. That’s all I’ll say about it.”

Adelman didn’t turn a blind eye to Dort’s foul play but only wanted to move past it because the league does so too. If there is no emphasis on the overly physical plays, then the HC would also want to save his energy. While he was clearly dejected, his star player, Nikola Jokic, had a completely different point of view.

With a minute remaining in the game, Dort was guarding Jamal Murray and attempted to fight through Jokic’s screen. The Thunder star did so by flaring his arm, which hit the Nuggets’ cornerstone in his face as he immediately went down. Netizens even called for a long-term suspension. Lu Dort was assessed with a flagrant one for his violent play against Nikola Jokic. This time, there was no frustration from Jokic, unlike their previous clash, which was also evident from his post-match comments.

When asked about his nose, the Joker said it was “good.” Later, asked if this foul also crossed the line, the answer was “No.” And the final follow-up was whether the water was under the bridge between the two stars. Jokic stated, “It was over since last time.”

Last time, the Denver Nuggets superstar was irate about the unsportsmanlike act that Dort demonstrated.

David Adelman had sided with Nikola Jokic after the last incident

The 3x MVP felt Lu Dort appeared to intentionally go after the injured left knee. He tripped the Joker, who went on to hit the floor but was quick to his feet and went right to Dort’s face. Thunder teammate Williams came in support, but Jokic was upset and even grabbed the neck as his facial expression went viral following the incident.

Adelman backed Nikola Jokic and his reaction.

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“He is more a measured person throughout the season,” he said in pregame of the Nuggets’ Sunday clash against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “And then for Dort to take that shot — and then I guess it wasn’t that big of a deal from their standpoint, how they looked at it — is ridiculous. That was malicious. It was a cheap shot.”

The officials issued a flagrant-2 ejection, and even Dort admitted his mistake.

“That’s a physical game, and there are limits to it. And, I went over the limit,” Dort told The Athletic. Maybe the apology swayed Nikola Jokic’s feelings, but it did not change Adelman’s stance.