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Nuggets are furious with Thunder coach’s response to Lu Dort trip

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Mar 2, 2026 9:01 AM ET

The Denver Nuggets are still furious with the Oklahoma City Thunder over an incident in Friday’s game involving Lu Dort.

Dort was ejected for tripping Nuggets center Nikola Jokic while Jokic was running up the floor in an eventual 127-121 Oklahoma City victory. Jokic was infuriated by the move and immediately got in Dort’s face (video here).

The Nuggets, however, have not yet moved on from the situation. The team is still angry about the situation, and are particularly furious with Thunder coach Mark Daigneault for what he said about the situation following the game, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Daigneault seemed to downplay the situation, and his comments even suggested that he thought his team was treated unfairly because Dort was ejected. He said Dort’s punishment would have to set a “precedent” and seemed genuinely aggrieved by the punishment.

Mark Daigneault talked about the Jokic-Dort-J-Will scuffle. Said the game was chippy from the start

Also said that from now on, anytime an OKC player gets tripped, they’ll believe it’ll be worthy of a flagrant 2: “That’s the precedent.” pic.twitter.com/GWvRKFlfhp
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 28, 2026

The Nuggets think Dort made a dangerous play that could have injured Jokic, who described the move as “unnecessary.” The Thunder seem to think they did nothing wrong, or at the very least, were punished too severely. Neither side appears interested in backing down, either.

The Nuggets and Thunder will face off again in Oklahoma City on March 9. It will be worth watching to see if the negative feelings carry over.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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