{"id":636890,"date":"2026-03-03T16:14:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/636890\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:14:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:14:36","slug":"angry-jazz-broadcasters-call-out-nikola-jokics-flopping-as-nuggets-star-explains-current-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/636890\/","title":{"rendered":"Angry Jazz Broadcasters Call Out Nikola Jokic\u2019s Flopping as Nuggets Star Explains Current Mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tonight, as the Denver Nuggets escaped Salt Lake City with a hard-fought 128-125 win over the Utah Jazz, all eyes were on Nikola Jokic. The superstar center seemed to be selling contact more than usual today, and his play caught the attention not just of fans but also of the local telecast. Here\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n

During one particular sequence, Jazz defensive specialist Elijah Harkless seemingly poked the ball loose before it was called a foul, prompting color commentator and former player Thurl Bailer to question Jokic\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYeah, and this is the Jokic antics right here,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s complaining to the ref about what? I mean, it\u2019s been happening all night. He just knocked the ball out of your hands. So there\u2019s no complaint. Just play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, forward Ace Bailey and Jokic<\/a> were battling for a rebound, with the rookie ending up being called for a loose ball foul, despite it being clear on replays that he had knocked the ball away cleanly. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack couldn\u2019t resist, pointing out that Jokic had once again ended up on the floor to try to appeal to the referees.<\/p>\n

Bolerjack also highlighted that Jokic was nearly 80 lbs. heavier than the Jazz rookie, and then later called him out for a play when he seemingly took center Kyle Filipowski<\/a> out of bounds during a free throw boxout, saying that Jokic \u201cjust drags and pulls [Filipowski] down\u201d by the arm.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t understand some of the calls,\u201d Thurl Bailey said about the foul that was called on Filipowski for the sequence. \u201cEspecially the free throw one. For me, that was just the biggest one where Jokic initiated that. And drove Kyle Filipowski out of bounds. I thought that was a big call that swayed this game just a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic Speaks on Mindset As Flopping Accusations Mount Against Him<\/p>\n

After the game, Nikola Jokic asked about seeing defensive coverages, including smaller defenders, and double teams, and his view on his play was very different than what the Jazz<\/a> broadcasters saw.<\/p>\n

\"Nov<\/p>\n

Nov 19, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107 (15) brings the ball up court against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying not to force it and try to play the game and I think it was okay,\u201d the Nuggets<\/a> superstar told reporters after the game. \u201cWe did a good job passing, scoring. We still scored 120 points, so it\u2019s a good night for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He also pointed towards one crucial late-game sequence. With about 30 seconds left on the clock and the Nuggets up by one, Jazz guard Keyonte George<\/a> drew a foul on Jokic that would have fouled him out and given the Jazz a chance to take the lead. Instead, Jokic appealed for a challenge on the play, which ended up overturning the call and giving the Nuggets the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just tried to see did they see something crucial because I didn\u2019t feel like it was something that is affecting, let\u2019s say, like that,\u201d Jokic said about his thought process. \u201cSo I just look at them to see do they see something, like did they slap him or whatever. And it was a good challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tonight, as the Denver Nuggets escaped Salt Lake City with a hard-fought 128-125 win over the Utah Jazz,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[224,7,301,187,3943,32099,955,1251,4164,6,470,253,302,74936,476,427],"class_list":["post-636890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-ace-bailey","tag-basketball","tag-denver","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-elijah-harkless","tag-keyonte-george","tag-kyle-filipowski","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-nuggets","tag-thurl-bailey","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-utah-jazz"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116166136983433463","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}