NBA officials are looking into the altercation between the brother of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and a fan that occurred in the Nuggets’ 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, per Michael J. Babcock of TMZ Sports.
The incident was captured on video and appears to show Jokic’s brothers climbing through the stands, with one of the brothers throwing a punch at the fan and connecting.
The Nuggets won on a Jamal Murray buzzer-beater to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
It will be interesting to see how the NBA office handles this particular situation, since it didn’t involve any players — but it didn’t involve the siblings of one of the league’s brightest stars.
Jokic is averaging 29.5 points, 16.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists through two games against the Lakers while shooting 61.5% from the field, 42.9% from beyond the arc and 88.9% from the free-throw line.
The Nuggets were down by 20 to the Lakers in Game 2. Denver outscored Los Angeles 32-20 in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers can’t beat the Nuggets. Los Angeles was swept by Denver in the 2023 Western Conference Finals and went 0-3 versus Jokic and Co. during the regular season. Even though LeBron James and Anthony Davis are putting up stellar numbers, it hasn’t mattered.
All signs point toward the Nuggets sweeping the Lakers again and advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. Denver is looking to become the first team since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors to win back-to-back championships.
The Nuggets will face the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Phoenix Suns series. Denver beat Phoenix in the second round of last year’s playoffs in six games.
During the regular season, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists while shooting 58.3% from the field, 35.9% from beyond the arc and 81.7% from the free-throw line. He’s widely expected to win his third MVP Award.
Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.
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