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Watch- Nikola Jokic becomes part of confrontation with Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant, days after getting fined $25,000
Kevin Durant aggressively pushed Jokic away when he was near Suns' team huddle.
Days after being fined $25,000 for ‘shoving’ incident with Phoenix Suns owner, Nikola Jokic became part of a confrontation during game 5 of the conference semifinals between Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Kevin Durant aggressively pushed Jokic away when he was near Suns' team huddle. Durant was called for a technical foul for his actions against Jokic. A video of the aggressive confrontation went viral on social media.
Watch the video here:
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"It wasn't anything serious. They were excited. They was up big, and we were trying to draw some stuff up. And you know how that goes. I don't think it was nothing," said Durant as quoted by ESPN.
Meanwhile, Jokic explained that he was trying to have a look at the play Suns coach Monty Williams was drawing while guiding the team.
"Just to see the play, I think that can help us a lot. I mean, that's what I was doing," said Jokic.
Amid all this, Suns coach called for the need to create and implement a rule which forbids opposition players from spying into another team's sideline huddles.
"The league has to figure out all that stuff, man. There's just too much silliness going on in the NBA when it comes to that. Everybody does it, and it should be like a written rule that you shouldn't walk over to somebody's huddle," said Williams.
Nuggets surpassed Suns by 118-102 on Tuesday in game 5. With the win, Nuggets lead the series 3-2 and are just one win away from qualifying for the Western Conference finals.
Nikola Jokic was the star for Nuggets as he finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in the game. It was his 10th career playoff triple-double. With his tremendous performance, Jokic passed the great Wilt Chamberlain (9) for the most triple-doubles in NBA Playoffs history for a center, climbing into the top-five all-time.
For Suns, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant played significant roles in the match. Booker finished with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists while Durant contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in the game.
