Nikola Jokic breaks down comical near-altercation with Pacers guard
By Jack Simone
The Indiana Pacers traveled out West to take on the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night. Despite a strong effort through the first three quarters, the defending champs became too much to bear.
Denver ended up taking home a 117-109 win over the Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers, marking Indiana’s first loss since the All-Star point guard went down with a hamstring injury.
However, while the game itself was fun, considering the Nuggets are one of the best teams in the league, the most prominent story from the night was Bruce Brown returning to Denver and getting his championship ring.
After the game, Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic was asked if there was any trash talk between him and Brown. The two-time MVP laughed off the notion.
“No. Bruce is a good guy,” Jokic said via DNVR Sports when asked if there was any trash talk between him and Brown. “I don’t talk trash to anybody.”
Jokic delivered a relatively hard foul to Brown in the first quarter, running into his former teammate and nailing him in the midsection while trying to chase a rebound.
The foul was called, and Brown stared down Jokic. The near-altercation quickly turned into laughter, and after the game, Jokic revealed that he diffused things very quickly, as Brown seemed like he wanted to go at it.
“Well, yes, because I didn’t see him,” Jokic said when asked if he apologized. “I think I kind of hit him really strong. So, he wanted to talk trash. I said, ‘[Whoa, Bruce]. Be good. Be good.’”
If Jokic was a guy who likes to talk, this could have easily turned into an on-court altercation, but it’s clear that there’s nothing but love between the Nuggets center and Brown.
Brown led the Pacers in scoring in his return to Denver. He ended the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals while shooting 8-of-16 from the floor and 1-of-2 from behind the three-point line.
As for Jokic, he put up 21 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 12-of-13 from the floor. That said, he also had seven turnovers against the Pacers.
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The Nuggets walked away with the win, but the Pacers fought hard. It was fun to see Brown get his ring, and hearing Jokic talk about what could have been a funny on-court incident made the night even funnier.