Jokic, Morris fracas mars Nuggets’ 113-96 win over Heat

Denver, Nov. 9 (BUS): Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists before the NBA’s best player was sent off for shoving his shoulder at Markiv Morris, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 113-96 on Monday night..

The Heat said Morris had a neck injury. Jokic said he saw a replay of the fight and backed off when he saw how hard Morris’ head hit the ground.

““I felt bad, really bad,” said Jokic..

Will Barton scored 25 points, and Jeff Green, who started in place of Michael Porter Jr., added 13 points for the Nuggets. And according to the Associated Press (AP), Denver has managed to keep its opponent under 100 points for the seventh time this season.

Jimmy Butler scored 31 points to lead the Heat, while Duncan Robinson scored 13.

With 2:39 left, Maurice Jokic hit his elbow in the middle section on the half-court. Jokic responded with a thrust from behind with his upper arm/shoulder that knocked Morris to the ground. Morris was plunged into pain as his teammates pushed Jokic away. The medical staff brought a stretcher on the ground but Morris was able to get up and walk off the ground on his own.

“We wanted to make sure that how it was and was ok. “We’ll find out more,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said of the apparent neck injury. “He is now moving in the locker room. But it was a very dangerous and dirty play. “

Morris was evaluated for an egregious foul and sent off, Jokic was sent off and Butler received a technical foul.

Spoelstra said Jokic’s actions were “totally gratuitous”. On the other hand, Djokic said that Morris’ injury exceeded the fatal error.

““I just felt like I needed to protect myself but on the other hand I’m not supposed to act that way, get kicked out of the game,” said Jokic..

Greene described it as “a play that shouldn’t happen.”. “

“I think Markev just went and tried to make a huge mistake. “I don’t think he had any intention of harming the Joker,” he said. But sometimes when things like that happen, you don’t know the other person’s intention and just react and that’s what the Joker did. “

Up 15 points in the first inning, the Nuggets scored 11 of their first 16 points in the third quarter, pushing their lead to 75-54 at Green’s lead-out-of-feed from Jokic. Denver leads 91-70 in the fourth quarter.

Butler hit 3s in a row around a basket by Jokic while Miami withdrew at 105-92 with just over four minutes left before Barton connected to a three-game winning streak to seal Denver’s win..

The Nuggets built a 64-49 lead in the first half, bolstered by Jokic, Barton and Morris, all of whom were in double digits and scored in the break..

Duncan Robinson of Miami hit a three-pointer in the first quarter, his 58th straight game with at least one three. The streak emerges as both a personal record and a franchise, surpassing its 57th streak in a row in 2019-20.

Nuggets: F Porter was disqualified due to low back pain. He left Saturday night’s game against Houston early due to back issues. Coach Michael Malone said team doctors are evaluating Porter’s back injury and do not have a definitive diagnosis. “Obviously this is a process where we are very careful,” Malone said. “Talking to the doctors, getting a shoot, all of that stuff. As of now, he’s out tonight and apart from that can’t say much at the moment.”

HF