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Nikola Jokic Reveals Reason For Intentionally Committing Flagrant Foul On Cameron Payne

The Denver Nuggets officially wrapped up their playoff run with a 125-118 loss in Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. With their season on the line, it did not help that 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic was unable to finish the game due to an ejection.

With 3:52 minutes left in the third quarter, Jokic received a flagrant two, an automatic ejection, for a hard foul on Suns point guard Cameron Payne. The foul occurred after Jokic attempted to steal the ball with a hard swipe, hitting Payne’s nose on the process.

Jokic left the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists on 52.9% shooting from the field. After the game, the Nuggets superstar revealed why he intentionally committed a hard foul on the Suns point guard.

Nikola Jokic: “I wanted to change the rhythm of the game, I wanted to give us some energy, maybe change the whistle a little bit, so I wanted to make a hard foul. Did I hit him, did I not hit him? We don’t know. So I say sorry if I did.”

Nikola Jokic: “I wanted to change the rhythm of the game, I wanted to give us some energy, maybe change the whistle a little bit, so I wanted to make a hard foul. Did I hit him, did I not hit him? We don’t know. So I say sorry if I did.”

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) June 14, 2021