Marc Daigneault’s take on Lou Dort’s ejection after Nikola Jokic’s collision in OKC’s win against the Nuggets

ByNBAUSA


OKLAHOMA CITY — After Friday’s 127-121 overtime victory, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gave his honest opinion about Lou Dort’s ejection in the fourth quarter for his fight with Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic. The two had to be separated, leading to a physical altercation between Thunder center Jaylin Williams and Jokic. The two centers were hit with double technical fouls as Dort’s night ended in the fourth quarter.

After the victory, Daigneault addressed the Dorts fourth quarter ejection while reminding reporters of how familiar his Thunder team is with the Nuggets, following their seven-game streak in the Western Conference semifinals.

“That was a great game. These are two teams that played each other in a seven-game series. We’re in the same division. We’ve played each other 100 times,” Daigneault said. “They know our playbook. We know their playbook. It’s simple. It’s going to be an imperfect game, and sometimes things escalate. I know Lou (Dort). I know (Nikola) Jokic.

“I know J-Will. I don’t think anybody’s trying to hurt anybody; they’re just big competitors. It just boiled down. I don’t think it was anything more than that.”

You could say that Nikola Jokic took his frustration out on Lou Dort’s flagrant 2-pointer on Williams, who defended his teammate like most centers in the NBA. This most likely influenced the referees’ decision to keep Jokic in the game, slapping him and Dzelin with double technical fouls.

Daigneault’s only hope is that if the situation were reversed, Jokic would be the one headed to the locker room for a flagrant-2.

“I will say this: If J-Will runs around the floor and trips, we expect a flagrant-2 from this point on. That’s all,” Daigneault added. “If it’s a precedent, if it becomes foul play, and flagrant-2 is the line in the sand on that, we’d expect it if it was J. Will. We’d expect it if it were anybody. And if that’s the case, we’re good.”

Williams finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block off the bench before sealing the Thunder’s overtime victory.

Mark Daigneault on Thunder’s SGA missing overtime

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the third quarter at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into overtime win on Friday against the Nuggets. With an abdominal injury that had kept him out of the Thunder’s previous nine games, Gilgeous-Alexander had an unannounced minutes limit ahead of the defending champions’ showdown with the Nuggets.

Daigneault explained what influenced the Thunder decision that Gilgeus-Alexander would remain on the bench after the fourth quarter.

“It’s going to be a 24-day injury. He’s back in the game. One of the conditions to get on the court tonight is to keep him at a certain point, by minutes,” Daigneault said. “We talked about that situation with both him and (Hartenstein) before the game. Just to be clear in an unemotional moment, if we were in that situation, that’s what we would do.

“Obviously we did that. I understand it’s a little unorthodox, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to prioritize the health of our players as they come back from injury.”

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals led the Thunder to a 16-point second-half comeback before the defending champions wrapped up the victory without their reigning MVP in overtime.





2026-02-28 08:47:00

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