Nikola Jokic, Serbian-born star of the Denver Nuggets, was ejected during Denver’s 114-106 win over Chicago tonight as the Bulls hosted Serbian Heritage Night. The incident occurred after Jokic missed a jump shot in the second quarter.
Expressing frustration and trying to get a foul from the referee, he yelled toward the back line official, Mousa Dagher, while running back on defense. This led to a technical foul and an immediate ejection, prompting booing from the Chicago crowd.
Jokic’s outburst included a heavy insult. “Whistle the foul, you piece of (bleep).”, as witnesses reported to ESPN along the baseline.
“To be clear, they ejected Jokic after a technical foul because he addressed the official with profanity-laced language that, by our standards, warranted an ejection.”, team leader Mark Lindsay told a reporter after the game.
Acknowledging that his language had “crossed the line,” Nikola Jokic said he was surprised by the quick ejection, saying he was glad the match was not played in a hot and hostile atmosphere in Serbia.
“I don’t know what happened there. It is what it is. I’m glad I didn’t play this game in Serbia, it would have been really fun to see how it would have ended.”, Jokic said about his ejection. “Some guys can say anything. I think sometimes what I say is not even a technical foul. Not this time, this time I crossed the line, but sometimes that word doesn’t cross the line. I like my money, so I won’t say anything more.”.
“I’m just happy that we didn’t play in Serbia, this game. It’s could’ve been really fun to see how it would be handled.” – Nikola Jokić 👀 pic.twitter.com/cYmOwJQPOt
– Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2023
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