Despite being a triple-double machine, Nikola Jokic’s antics sometimes are quite blatant. Earlier this month, the Utah Jazz broadcaster called out the Nuggets’ superstar. But when the OKC Thunder announcers tried to do that, they failed because of Lu Dort.

With a minute remaining in the game, Dort was guarding Jamal Murray and attempted to get through Jokic’s screen attempt. That’s when the officials called for a foul on the Thunder forward. Former player/longtime Thunder color analyst, Michael Cage, was quick to criticize the Joker in his apparent flopping attempt.

“Come on, come on. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? He didn’t even get hit in the face. Take a look at this, folks. I’ve got to show it to you. Take a look at this.”

The replay clearly showed that Dort was flaring his arm, which hit Nikola Jokic in his face, and that’s why he went down. Fortunately, Cage’s partner was not biased with his call. Chris Fisher, the longtime TV play-by-play announcer on Bally Sports Oklahoma, did spot the foul and reported it on air. “There’s clear contact with Dort’s arm on Jokic here. As Dort is trying to get through that screen. And the elbow, a little high, gets Jokic in the face.”

It was more of a backhand slap that was visible to the fans in the first go. They called out Lu Dort, who has earned a reputation of ‘dirty player’ because of his blatant fouls. Yet, Cage continued to support the OKC star.

“And here’s the thing: I don’t even think the officials saw it until Jokic went down. Come on, that’s incidental contact at that point.” So Cage was adamant in proving his point that it was not a deliberate contact. But the officials’ decision said otherwise.

The officials deemed the foul from Dort as “unnecessary,” and he was assessed with a flagrant one. After the game, the Denver head coach did not appreciate this foul one bit. Even the Thunder forward acknowledged his mistake against Nikola Jokic.

“Just lost in the competition,” Dort told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “But shook his hand, [said] ‘great game’ and I apologized that that happened.” This marked the second flagrant act by Dort against Jokic. The apology from Dort proved that there was enough contact, which the OKC broadcaster Cage failed to mention on air.

3 minutes of evidence against Nikola Jokic

Earlier this month, when the Jazz clashed against the Nuggets, the 3x MVP scored 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. However, throughout the game, the Jazz announcing team of Craig Bolerjack (longtime play-by-play announcer) and Thurl Bailey (former Jazz player and analyst) criticized the whistle, favoring the Joker.

BrickCenter compiled multiple instances, which were a three-minute video of the announcers criticizing Jokic for flopping on the second night of March. One such instance was “He sold it,” Bailey said. “We’ll watch this replay, and Will Hardy’s face says it all. Watch Harkless, little bump. And then watch Jokic. Pow! Sniper in the building. I mean, come on.”

It transpired with mere seconds left for halftime, when Jazz guard Elijah Harkless got called for a defensive foul for setting a screen on Nikola Jokic. Later in that possession, the referees called Harkless for another foul after Jokic absorbed a push, but the replays showed it was a shoulder nudge, which came from the 6-foot-3 guard.

For the majority of the game, the whistle favored Nikola Jokic, which the Nuggets fans did not like. They had the evidence to back their claims, which was missing when OKC’s Cage made that call.