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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 24: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts during the second half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on March 24, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Nikola Jokic once again couldn’t lead the Denver Nuggets to a win in Game 4 of the first round as they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves to go down 3-1 in the series.

The game, which ended with perhaps more storylines than any other matchup in recent NBA memory, was capped off with Jokic confronting Jaden McDaniels of the Timberwolves after he made a layup with the game’s result already decided.

That then led to a scuffle, which ended up seeing Jokic fined by the NBA for the move. After Game 4, the three-time MVP’s decision to accost McDaniels was deemed ’embarrassing’ by multiple ESPN analysts.

Nikola Jokic Called Out For ‘Embarrassing’ Move On McDaniels In Game 4

Speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast after the weekend of NBA games, insiders and analysts Brian Windhorst, Tim McMahon, and Tim Bontemps of ESPN deemed Jokic’s move to approach McDaniels at the end of Game 4, which led to the eventual brouhaha ’embarrassing.’

“The fact that he hit a layup when the clock was still running, and you want to whine and cry about unwritten rules, to me, is embarrassing,” McMahon said of the situation.

The unwritten rule at play here is that in NBA games that have already been decided, the winning team tends to take the turnover rather than scoring an extra few points, a sign of respect to their opponent they just beat.

However, as The Hoop Collective group said, Jamal Murray of the Nuggets made a shot that gave the ball back to the Timberwolves, which eventually led to McDaniels’ layup and the ensuing fracas.

“Quite frankly, Joker, we all love him, he’s an all-time great, (but) that was embarrassing on his part,” McMahon followed up with. “That was a case of a guy getting his (expletive) kicked the entire series, and losing his composure.”

Denver and Minnesota clearly have ill will towards each other, and that was evident at the end of Game 4.

“This was a crash-out because he was embarrassed,” Bontemps chimed in on Jokic. “It was embarrassing, and there’s no other way around it.”

The day after the matchup, the NBA announced that Jokic was fined $50,000 for his actions, while Julius Randle, who also found himself involved, was hit with a $35,000 fine. They were both ejected, but nobody was suspended for their actions.

Nuggets Hoping To Save Themselves From Elimination Against Timberwolves In Game 5

The end-of-game interaction between Jokic and McDaniels was just one of many storylines that came out of Nuggets vs Timberwolves Game 4.

Others that came out of the matchup were Donte DiVincenzo‘s Achilles injury, Anthony Edwards‘ knee injury, Ayo Dosunmu‘s career-high 43 points on 13/17 shooting, Jokic getting stopped again by Rudy Gobert, and obviously, Minnesota taking the 3-1 series lead.

Now, heading into Game 5, the Timberwolves could shock the Nuggets and take the series with just one more win. They won’t be without their starting backcourt of DiVincenzo and Edwards, but Denver will be again without Peyton Watson, while Aaron Gordon is questionable for the contest.

The Nuggets getting a victory will require Jokic to bounce back and put together one of his MVP-level games, as throughout the series, Gobert has put a stop to him.

“Give Gobert credit,” McMahon added on The Hoop Collective podcast about how he is guarding Jokic. “This guy is absolutely playing spectacularly dominant defensive basketball. Joker’s not able to get anywhere that he wants to go…But I’m not going to sit here and rule out the possibility of that trend reversing course.”

Nuggets vs Timberwolves Game 5 will tipoff on Monday, April 27, at 8:30 pm MST and will be live on NBC and Peacock.