Nikola Jokic gives his side of what happened with Jaden McDaniels in the final seconds of game four.
Despite missing two starters, including superstar Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves came out energized in the second half, outscoring Denver 62-42 in the half to win the game 112-96.
The final two points scoring by Minnesota came via a layup by Jaden McDaniels with two seconds remaining and the game already decided, with the Nuggets effectively conceding.
Nikola Jokic took exception to the layup by McDaniels, charging after him and leading to a scuffle between the two teams.
The two sides came together with a lot of pushing, shoving, and yelling, before they were separated by coaching and officials. Jokic and Julius Randle were ejected for their roles in the incident.
Nikola Jokic Speaks
Speaking to the media after the game, Jokic was asked why he was upset with McDaniels.
"Because he scored when everybody stopped playing. You saw what happened," he said.
Denver had the ball down 110-96 with 18 seconds left. Jamal Murray took a three that missed. Mike Conley got the rebound and tossed it to McDaniels, who scored the layup rather than dribble out the clock.
Asked if he regretted going after McDaniels, Jokic said, "No. I don't regret it."
Jokic then confirmed he was upset over the "unwritten rule" of dribbling out the clock in that situation rather than scoring another basket.
No punches were exchanged between McDaniels and Jokic, only shoving and jersey grabbing.
Previous Comments From Jaden McDaniels
McDaniels has had his fingerprints all over the series, whether it is on the court or off.
After game two, McDaniels called everyone on the Nuggets a bad defender, even calling them out individually.
He backed up his talk with a 20 point, 10 rebound performance in game three, helping the Timberwolves to a 113-96 victory.
In game four, McDaniels only had 12 points and eight rebounds, but the Denver defense had no answer for Ayo Dosunmu, who saw extra playing time due to the injuries suffered to Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards. Dosunmu scored 43 points on 7-13 shooting and 5-5 from three.
On the other side of the floor, McDaniels and the Timberwolves have locked in defensively, holding the league's best offense in the regular season to below 100 points in the last two games.
McDaniels' physicality has seemingly been a problem for the Denver guards as they've failed to create separation whether with the ball or without.