David Adelman calls out Lu Dort's 'cheap shot' on Nikola Jokic: 'That was malicious'

Even a couple of nights of sleep were enough. The Oklahoma City Thunder's 127-121 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets continues to dominate the NBA cycle. Specifically, Nikola Jokic's confrontation with Lu Dort over the latter's flagrant two.

On a routine inbounds, Dort stuck his foot out backwards to trip Jokic. The three-time MVP stumbled to the floor. He immediately got up and confronted him over the trip. After both sides were separated by their teammates, Dort was ejected with a flagrant foul two.

Jokic and Jaylin Williams were hit with double technical fouls for getting into each other's faces. The Thunder came away with the drama-filled win in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's return. But even a couple of days later, the Nuggets are still upset at what happened.

Nuggets head coach David Adelman lengthened the storyline. He talked about how vicious Dort's move was. And that it had nothing to do with basketball. The Thunder and Nuggets have had a growing NBA rivalry over the years. Both have the top two MVP candidates over the last three seasons. OKC knocked out Denver in the playoffs last year.

“That was malicious. It was a cheap shot. Lu Dort is a great player, and that’s not what I’ve seen him do before. But at some point, you have to stand up for yourself, and the team does as well," Adelman said. "They’re a great team. That game was what it was. But yeah, Nikola, that’s who he is, man. You can’t have the success he’s had and not be that competitive. He has emotions inside of him that he keeps in check, but the guy is very capable and very willing to emotionally respond.”

No love lost between the two sides. The Thunder and Nuggets are already must-watch TV. But this latest chapter with Jokic and Dort adds fuel to the fire. Adelman has gone out of his way to back up his guy. Which is understandable.

The Thunder and Nuggets face off two more times in the 2025-26 regular season. OKC has won the first two matchups. Most folks believe these are two of the league's best teams. Even with injuries derailing them at different levels.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: David Adelman calls out Lu Dort's 'cheap shot' on Nikola Jokic