Will Markieff Morris miss rest of season after Nikola Jokic shove?

Tensions were high in the immediate aftermath, but things settled down and the game was finished with Morris in the locker room injured and Jokic having been ejected. After the game, both Morris' brother Marcus -- who plays for the Clippers -- and Jokic's brothers exchanged words via Twitter that prolonged the feud.

Nikola himself was apologetic after the game, however.

"It's a stupid play," Jokic said. "I feel bad. I am not supposed to react that way. ... I thought it was going to be a take foul. ... I think it was a dirty play. And I just needed to protect myself. I felt bad. I am not supposed to react that way, but I need to protect myself."

"I don't know who showed me the clip, and actually his head snapped back [after the shove], so I feel really bad. ... It's a bad move," he later added.

Flash forward three months, and Morris still hasn't seen the floor. He's now missed 44 consecutive games, initially dealing with whiplash but more recently being designated as out due to “return to competitive reconditioning.”

Morris tweeted on Jan. 6 that he would "be back soon" and noted that Jokic made "direct contact with [his] spine." He added later that day, "Heat nation I'll see y'all soon!!"

Nearly a month went by before Morris addressed the injury again, as Saturday afternoon he again took to Twitter to respond to the Miami Herald story, saying "Both sides concerned. Don’t trip though you’ll see me again this year! That’s a Fact!" He also said in a later tweet that he has been cleared, although the Heat had not released that info.

Before the injury, Morris was averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He averaged 18.7 minutes per game off the bench. The Heat currently sit tied for first in the Eastern Conference at 34-20.