It didn’t take long for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets to get feisty with each other. Nikola Jokic went one by one with the reigning NBA champion’s entire rotation at getting into an escalated situation — some more serious than others.

The worst involved Nikola Jokic and Lu Dort. The Thunder came away with a 127-121 overtime win over the Nuggets. A fourth-quarter fight was the headliner as it trended all across social media.

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Getting ready to defend Denver on an inbound play, Dort ran into Jokic and blindsided him. The three-time MVP tumbled to the ground. He immediately got up and saw red. He confronted Dort before the rest of the Thunder joined in. At one point, Jokic was face-to-face with Jaylin Williams and grabbed him by the jersey.

Dort was eventually ejected with a flagrant foul two. Jokic and Williams were both hit with double technical fouls.

There was plenty of beef from both sides. That’s what happens when you’ve had a playoff battle just last year and are penciled as two of the best contenders in the league. No love is lost between the Thunder and Nuggets.

In a Pool Report, Crew Chief James Williams explained some of their decisions in the drama-filled game that saw the Thunder best the Nuggets in overtime without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein. Here’s what he had to say on several moments throughout the night:

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Early SGA-Jokic sparks

Q: “Why was Jokic not called for a technical foul for the post-whistle contact before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw the ball at him in the first quarter?”

Williams: “We did not believe the contact by Jokic’s left forearm rose to the level of an unsportsmanlike act, therefore he was not assessed a technical foul.”

This happened all the way at the beginning of the game. Gilgeous-Alexander received a technical foul for throwing the ball at Jokic. In his defense, it looked like he threw it at him dodgeball-style in an attempt to save OKC possession as he was bumped off-balance and about to go out of bounds.

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Dort’s ejection

Q: “Why was Dort’s foul upgraded to a flagrant 2?”

Williams: “Lu Dort was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2 because we deemed his contact on Jokic to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury, and also because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve.  So, by rule, a flagrant foul penalty 2 carries an automatic ejection.”

That’s fair. Dort shouldn’t have stuck his leg behind him to trip Jokic. Just can’t do that in the NBA.

Jokic-Williams confrontation

Q: “Why was the physical confrontation between Jokic and Williams not deemed worthy of an ejection for either player?”

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Williams: “When we reviewed that play, we did not see any actions by either player that would have risen to the level of an ejection, which is why both players received unsportsmanlike technical fouls that were offset.”

Eh. I don’t know about that. Jokic grabbed a handful of Williams’ jersey. Meanwhile, all Williams did was not let him get to Dort. Feels like one was more aggressive than the other in that altercation.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: NBA referee explains why Lu Dort was ejected over Nikola Jokic