Oklahoma City Thunder wing Luguentz Dort apologized for the flagrant 2 foul on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić that led to his ejection in last week's 127-121 overtime victory. Speaking after Tuesday's win over the Chicago Bulls, Dort called the trip 'unnecessary' and admitted crossing a physical limit.
Four days after his ejection for tripping Nikola Jokić in the fourth quarter of the Thunder's 127-121 overtime win over the Nuggets—deemed a flagrant 2 foul after video review—Luguentz Dort addressed the incident with reporters following Oklahoma City's 116-108 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Speaking to The Athletic's Joel Lorenzi, Dort reflected on the physical matchup: "It was a physical game throughout the whole game. Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn't have done. I got the worst of it by getting thrown out the game. But yeah, it was a high-level game. I'm a competitor, so I compete."
He acknowledged the error: "That's a physical game and there's limits to it. And I went over the limit." Agreeing with Jokić's 'unnecessary move' criticism and Nuggets coach David Adelman's 'cheap shot' label, Dort added, "They were right. That was an unnecessary move by me, something I shouldn't have done."
Defending his style, Dort rejected dirty player accusations: "I don't think I'm dirty. I can't control media. Media always wants to have some type of attention or anything. They want that buzz. I can't control that. I've been doing well with this organization for years now. I'm happy with how I play and what I do with my teammates. I go out there, compete every night. So I'm gonna keep doing what I do on the court, and then let the media judge the way they want to judge."
The incident also drew technical fouls for Jokić and Thunder's Jaylin Williams. Dort's remorse underscores his commitment to clean competition amid NBA intensity.
