Jokic suspended, and Morris and Butler fined. Fallout from Monday’s Heat-Nuggets incident
The Miami Heat wasn’t happy with Monday’s result, but players and coaches were even more upset about a play that happened late in the game.
With 2:39 left in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 113-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic blindsided Heat forward Markieff Morris in retaliation to a hard foul.
The NBA reviewed the incident and announced Tuesday night that Jokic has been suspended for one game without pay for “forcefully shoving” Morris “to the floor from behind.” Jokic will serve his suspension on Wednesday when the Nuggets host the Indiana Pacers, which will cost him a game check of $210,417, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The league also issued a $50,000 fine to Morris “for committing a Flagrant Foul 2 on Jokic that initiated an on-court altercation.” The $50,000 fine is the maximum before a player can file a grievance.
In addition, Heat forward Jimmy Butler received a $30,000 fine “for attempting to escalate the altercation and failing to comply with an NBA Security interview as part of the review process pertaining to an on-court matter.”
Jokic was dribbling the ball down the court and attempted to deliver a pass when Morris gave a hard foul with his left forearm in an effort to stop the play near midcourt. As Morris walked away after the foul, the 6-11 and 284-pound Jokic ran at Morris and shoved him from behind with his right shoulder and forearm.
The shove sent Morris crashing to the floor as his head snapped back.
“That was a very dangerous, dirty play,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following the game. “I thought Keef took a foul and it was one of those fast-break take fouls. And he did it with his shoulder. You might deem that maybe as a little bit more than just the slapping stuff. Right after I watched it on film, it was a take foul. That’s how I saw it. And the play after that, that’s just absolutely uncalled for.”
Morris, 32, remained on the court for several minutes as he grabbed his neck. A stretcher was brought out, but Morris was able to slowly walk off the court on his own and the Heat announced shortly after that he suffered an “apparent neck injury.”
“This whole thing could have been a whole lot uglier if Markieff was actually facing Jokic,” an angry Spoelstra said. “The fact that he had his back turned and he made a play like that, blindsiding him, that was just a very dangerous play.”
Of the late-game sequence, Jokic said after the game: “It’s a stupid play. I feel bad. I’m not supposed to react that way. But it’s in the middle of the game. I got hit. I saw him, but I thought it was just going to be like a take foul. So when he kind of bumped me, I think it was a dirty play. Then I just needed to protect myself. I felt bad. I’m not supposed to react that way.”
Spoelstra added that Morris was “moving around” after the game, but the Heat will “do the necessary tests, whatever we need to do just to make sure that he’s OK.” But the Heat (7-3) ruled out Morris for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center (10 p.m., ESPN and Bally Sports Sun) because of whiplash stemming from Jokic’s shove.
“I felt bad, for real, because I don’t know who showed me the clip and actually his head snapped back so I feel really bad. ... It’s a bad move,” Jokic said of shoving Morris.
Morris was assessed a Flagrant 2 for his foul on Jokic and Jokic was ejected for shoving Morris from behind. Butler also picked up a technical foul during the incident, needing to be held back as he yelled at Jokic with Morris down on the court.
“Upon video review a Flagrant Foul penalty 2 was assessed,” officiating crew chief Kevin Scott said to a pool reporter when asked why Morris’ foul was deemed to be a Flagrant 2. “The contact by Morris was interpreted to be excessive and unnecessary based on the following criteria. One, the severity of the contact. Two, whether or not the player was making a legitimate basketball play. Three, the potential for injury resulting from the contact and four, the outcome of the contact led to an altercation.”
Morris tweeted Tuesday morning: “I love to see the hate! No doubt I took a hard foul which I always do but I’ve never hit a man with his back turned! Luckily we built different over here. I can take my licks and keep pushing. Joker 1 smooth 0 lol.”
No Heat players were made available for comment following Monday’s game. Spoelstra was the only one who spoke to the media.
A photograph taken by the Denver Post’s Aaron Ontiveroz showed Heat players waiting in the hallway outside their locker room following Monday night’s game. As they looked toward the Nuggets’ locker room, security and Heat general manager Andy Elisburg stood in front of them blocking the hallway.
“Did you see our guys?” Spoelstra said when asked about the mood in the Heat’s locker room after the game. “Yeah. The video and pictures are worth 1,000 words.”
The Heat and Nuggets meet again on Nov. 29 at FTX Arena.
Jokic finished Monday’s game with a triple-double that included 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists before he was ejected.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Tuesday morning on Altitude Sports Radio in Denver that he reached out to Spoelstra to check on Morris, but also noted that he disagreed with Spoelstra calling Morris’ foul “a take foul” and believed it was indeed a Flagrant 2.
“I think the Flagrant 2 on Morris was the correct call,” Malone said to reporters on Tuesday. “Watching it from different angles, it was an unnecessary play, a dirty play, however you want to phrase it. Nikola reacted, and I loved what Nikola said. He knows that he can’t react in that manner.”
Spoelstra did not speak to reporters on Tuesday because the Heat had an off day. Spoelstra and Heat players are expected to speak to the media Wednesday afternoon following the team’s shootaround session in Los Angeles.
Family also got involved, as Morris’ twin brother — Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. — tweeted: “Waited till bro turned his back smh. NOTED.”
Jokic’s brothers created a Twitter account to respond to Marcus on Tuesday morning: “You should leave this the way it is instead of publicly threatening our brother! Your brother made a dirty play first. If you want to make a step further be sure we will be waiting for you !! Jokic Brothers”
“You got the right ones believe that!” Marcus responded on Twitter.
“I don’t believe…I know that!” Jokic’s brothers wrote to continue the social media conversation.
Morris finished Monday’s loss with 10 points and three rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench before the incident.
“Me and Bam were fighting the whole night. It was a nice fight,” Jokic said, referring to his battle with Heat center Bam Adebayo. “I think you can play fairly and still be aggressively and still fight with your guy. But I thought it was a little bit over the edge, so that’s why I reacted.”
INJURY REPORT
Along with Morris, the Heat will remain without Marcus Garrett (G League) and Victor Oladipo (knee recovery) on Wednesday against the Lakers.
In addition, Bam Adebayo (left knee bruise), Tyler Herro (lower back tightness) and P.J. Tucker (left shoulder stinger) are listed as questionable.
Caleb Martin (left thumb sprain) and Max Strus (left knee sprain) are probable.
The Lakers have ruled out Trevor Ariza, Talen Horton-Tucker, LeBron James and Kendrick Nunn because of injuries. Sekou Doumbouya, Jay Huff, Austin Reaves and Rajon Rondo are questionable, and Anthony Davis is probable.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 1:33 AM.
