By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Denver Nuggets reigning MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat after he shoved Markieff Morris violently with his shoulder, resulting in an apparent neck injury for the Heat forward.
Morris first bumped onto Jokic with a foul in the final two minutes of the game, though the Serbian big did not ignore the contact – rather retaliated with a hard shove to the floor.
Both sides got ignited pretty fast after the incident, as the Heat forward was helped off the floor with the help of the team’s medical staff as it can be seen in the video below:
Jokic had a triple-double night before the incident (25 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists), while both him and Morris were ejected from the court.
The reigning MVP could be facing a suspension following his hard foul and received backlash post-game by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
“That was a very dangerous and dirty play,” Spoelstra told reporters. “We wanted to make sure Kieff was and is OK. We’ll find out more. He’s moving around right now in the locker room”.
Jokic admitted that he wanted to protect himself and “felt bad” after the incident while watching Morris down on the floor.
“It’s a stupid play. I feel bad. I am not supposed to react that way”, Jokic mentioned. “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.”
“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”, added the reigning MVP.
Photo: Getty Images