Nagpaumanhin si Luguentz Dort, wing ng Oklahoma City Thunder, sa flagrant 2 foul kay Nikola Jokić, sentro ng Denver Nuggets, na humantong sa kanyang pagbitiwan sa nakaraang linggong 127-121 panalo sa overtime. Pagkatapos ng panalo laban sa Chicago Bulls noong Martes, tinawag ni Dort ang pagtalilis na 'hindi kinakailangan' at inamin na lumampas sa pisikal na hangganan.
Apat na araw matapos ang kanyang pagbitiwan dahil sa pagtalilis kay Nikola Jokić sa ika-apat na quarter ng 127-121 overtime panalo ng Thunder laban sa Nuggets—na itinalaga bilang flagrant 2 foul pagkatapos ng video review—pinag-usapan ni Luguentz Dort ang insidente sa mga reporter pagkatapos ng 116-108 panalo ng Oklahoma City laban sa Chicago Bulls noong Martes. 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.
