The Nuggets were not in a very forgiving mood on Wednesday.
Making his first public comments since his ejection for tripping Nikola Jokic last Friday, Thunder wing Lu Dort acknowledged that he “went over the limit.”
“It was a physical game throughout the whole game,” Dort told The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi during a Thunder road trip in Chicago. “Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn’t have done. I got the worst of it by getting thrown out the game. But yeah, it was a high-level game. I’m a competitor, so I compete.”
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The Nuggets haven’t been shy about voicing their displeasure with both Dort and Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault for what they believed was a dismissive postgame quote about the incident. Adelman called the trip a “cheap shot” and “malicious” two days after the game. Jokic kept his assessment of the situation brief but made his feelings clear, calling it an “unnecessary move” by Dort and a “necessary reaction by me.”
So did Dort’s admission finally de-escalate the tension between Oklahoma City and Denver ahead of next Monday’s rematch? Adelman, Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas spoke to reporters after practice on Wednesday. All three were asked if the comments meant anything to them.
All three replied “no,” with no further comment.
Tyus Jones gets in the gym
Denver’s ball-handling reinforcements have arrived. Jones was in the gym Wednesday, walking through actions with a group of assistant coaches after the Nuggets finished up practice. The signing of Jones hadn’t been made official yet, but he’ll be with the team Thursday when the Lakers visit Ball Arena.
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