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Both Nikola Jokić and Julius Randlehave been punished by the NBA after a scuffle that erupted in the final seconds of Game 4, the league announced on Sunday.
Jokić was fined $50,000 for his role in the incident, and Randle was assessed a $35,000 fine. Neither was hit with a suspension, and will be available for Game 5.
Minnesota took a 3-1 series lead with Saturday’s 112-96 win, behind a monster performance from Ayo Dosunmu off the bench. But with seconds left on the clock, and the Timberwolves up by double digits, forward Jaden McDaniels made an unnecessary open layup to grow Minnesota’s score even more.
Jokić quickly confronted McDaniels over the bucket, which breaks an unwritten rule about letting the clock run down. From there, both teams rushed over and got into a shoving match.
Once the scrum was cleared, the referees ejected Jokić and Minnesota’s Julius Randle, citing unsportsmanlike conduct.
Tensions were high at the end of Game 4 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves 😳
Both Nikola Jokic and Julius Randle were ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. pic.twitter.com/U7Pg8ULO1J
Postgame, both McDaniels and Jokić told reporters that they didn’t regret their choices. Jokić said that he confronted the young Timberwolves forward “because he scored after everybody stopped playing.”
McDaniels, meanwhile, did not show any remorse about the layup. “The clock’s still be running, so, I’m about to go score,” he said.
The series will now return to Denver for Game 5 on Monday.
This story will be updated.
