Nikola Jokic doesn't lose his cool often. When he does, there's usually a good reason.

With approximately eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Friday night's game between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, and OKC leading 90-88, Lu Dort appeared to trip Jokic in what quickly became the most talked-about moment of the night.

Tensions escalated on the floor, and Jokic responded visibly to the play. It was a rare emotional moment for a superstar who usually keeps his reactions in the background. 

The Joker has a reputation for remaining composed, but even he has his limits. This was one of those moments where he was pushed over the proverbial ledge. 

Nuggets head coach David Adelman addressed the incident postgame, and he didn't mince words about how he viewed Dort's actions or his star player's response to them.

"Yeah, I think it is who he is," Adelman said. "[Jokic] is a more measured person throughout the season, because I think definitely most people are. they're more productive if they're measured. But there's a point where we play these games and what he deals with nightly, anybody would react that way."

"And then for Dort to take that shot, and then, I guess it wasn't that big of a deal from their standpoint, how they looked at it, is ridiculous. That was malicious, it was a cheap shot. Lu Dort's a great player, that's not what I've seen him do before."

This was a very specific callout that you don't often see from a head coach. Plenty of NBA fans have accused Dort of playing a dirty style. Adelman didn't go that far, but he certainly made his thoughts on this particular play clear. 

He also defended the actions of his superstar. Adelman knows that Jokic takes a lot of hits on a nightly basis, but he's also aware of just how much Nikola controls his emotions as well. 

"At some point, you have to stand up for yourself, and the team does as well ... But yeah, Nikola, that's who he is, man. You can't have the success he's had and not be that competitive. And he has emotions inside of him that he keeps in check. But the guy is very capable and very willing to emotionally respond." 

Adelman's characterization of the play as malicious is a strong public statement. Dort has spent years cultivating a reputation as one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league, and there has certainly been repeated chatter about potentially dirty plays involving him.

For a head coach to use that word in a press conference is notable, and it signals that Denver isn't inclined to quietly move past what happened.

From Jokic's perspective, the reaction was understandable. He is the most fouled big man in the league on most nights, absorbing contact at a rate that would test anyone's patience over the course of a full season.

The fact that he typically navigates all of it without incident speaks to his discipline. Wednesday night was a completely understandable reaction. 

Whether the NBA reviews the play and issues supplemental discipline to Dort remains to be seen. What's already clear is that the Nuggets viewed it seriously, and their coach made sure everyone knew it.