On Sunday, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had a game for the ages.
He scored 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting from the field, to go along with 11 assists, albeit in a losing effort, as the Nuggets fell to the Phoenix Suns 129-124 and allowed them to tie the Western Conference semifinals.
But Jokic was also involved in an altercation on Sunday when he shoved Suns owner Mat Ishbia while going after the ball in the stands.
On Monday, the NBA decided that Jokic will not be suspended, but that he will be fined $25,000 as a result of the incident.
Jokic will be fined $25K, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/L6M9cSWxfl
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2023
Although he failed to win the regular season MVP this season, which would’ve been his third in a row, he had another banner year, averaging 24.5 points on a career-high 63.2 percent shooting, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game in the regular season.
The Nuggets-Suns series looked to be a terrific matchup at the start of two former MVPs in Jokic and Kevin Durant, as well as two additional stars in Jamal Murray and Devin Booker who have the tendency to explode for big games in the playoffs.
Denver won the first two games, and when Chris Paul suffered a groin injury in Game 2, it looked like perhaps they had a clear opportunity to sweep.
But the Suns have won Game 3 and Game 4 behind Booker, who has had a combined 83 points in both contests while shooting an unreal percentage from the field.
King Booker’s last 2 games:
34-43 FG
AUTOMATIC. pic.twitter.com/50IbEumEx1
— Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) May 8, 2023
The Nuggets will need a couple more huge performances from Jokic in order to win this series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
NEXT: NBA Insider Gives Latest Update On Nikola Jokic Incident
