AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus
Morris Sr. took note of how the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic went
after his twin brother, Markieff Morris of the Miami Heat, during Monday
night’s game.
After Morris’ tweet, Jokic’s two brothers responded, saying they’d be “waiting” for Marcus Morris if he wanted “to make a step further.”
Morris started the sequence with a hard
foul Jokic to stop a fast break by the Nuggets late in the fourth
quarter of an eventual 113-96 win by Denver, and the reigning NBA MVP
responded by delivering a shoulder barge into the back of Morris
after he’d turned around to walk away.
The Heat forward laid on the court for
a while, but he was eventually able to leave under his own power. Head
coach Erik Spoelstra, who called it a “very dangerous and dirty
play,” said Morris was moving around well in the locker room after
the contest.
“This whole thing could have been
a whole lot uglier if Markieff was actually facing Jokic,”
Spoelstra told reporters. “The fact that he had his back turned
and he made a play like that, blindsiding him, just a very dangerous
play.”
Jokic sounded a remorseful tone after
getting a chance to watch the replay of his hit on Morris.
“It’s a stupid play,” Jokic
said. “I feel bad. I am not supposed to react that way. … I
thought it was going to be a take foul. … I think it was a dirty
play. And I just needed to protect myself. I felt bad. I am not
supposed to react that way, but I need to protect myself.”
He added: “I don’t know who showed
me the clip, and actually his head snapped back [after the shove], so
I feel really bad. … It’s a bad move.”
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said
he’ll wait to hear from the league office to see whether Jokic, who
was ejected from the game, faces any additional punishment.
“I will concern myself when they
tell us he’s suspended,” Malone said. “I am not going to
waste any of my time looking into my crystal ball and my tea leaves.
I don’t have any of that. He’s available until they tell me he’s not.
And I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be available Wednesday
night.”
Denver’s next game is Wednesday night
against the Indiana Pacers. It faces the Heat again Nov. 29 in Miami and takes
on the Clippers and the other Morris twin for the first time this
season Dec. 26 in L.A.
Meanwhile, Miami continues its
five-game road trip Wednesday night when it visits the Los Angeles
Lakers.
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