Nuggets' Michael Malone Says Nikola Jokic Didn't Deserve Ejection for Cam Payne Foul

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone thought Nuggets star Nikola Jokic only made "marginal" contact with Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne in earning a Flagrant 2 foul in the third quarter.

"He was making a play on the ball," Malone told reporters.

Jokic was ejected when he attempted to wrest the ball from Payne and made contact across Payne's face.

While a flagrant foul became inevitable upon viewing the replay, some thought sending the 2020-21 MVP to the locker room was an extreme step:

The implications of his ejection likely played a role in the criticism. The Nuggets trailed by eight points at that time, and it became a nine-point game once both teams shot their free throws stemming from the incident.

Denver was down 3-0 in the series, so losing Jokic effectively extinguished any hopes of a comeback. Malone's squad attempted to rally with a 35-point fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Suns sealed a berth in the Western Conference Finals.

No team in NBA history has come back after dropping the first three games of a seven-game series. The Portland Trail Blazers in 2003 were the most recent team to nearly pull it off, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 in the first round.

The Nuggets' ultimate fate probably would've been the same if Jokic had received a Flagrant 1 foul instead. Perhaps they could've forced the Suns to close things out at home in Game 5, but Phoenix's first three wins underscored how it was simply a better team.