It was not Nikola Jokic’s night.
Before his Nuggets dropped Game 2 to the Warriors by 20, before his frustration with the officials boiled over into him getting ejected, there was the moment a heated Jokic turned to go have words with Gary Payton II after Payton made a relatively innocent tap on Jokic’s behind, and Stephen Curry had to step between as peacemaker.
It started at the end of the first quarter when Payton blocked a Jokic second chance at the rim (which led to an Otto Porter 3-pointer going the other way).
GP2 STUFFS JOKER 😱 pic.twitter.com/UFjHHuCzrY
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 19, 2022
The quarter soon ended, and as the players walked back to their benches, Payton passed by Jokic and gave him a tap on the behind, to which Jokic took offense. Curry played the peacemaker despite being considerably smaller than Jokic.
GP2 blocked Joker’s shot and slapped him on the butt.
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 19, 2022
Steph had to step in 😲 pic.twitter.com/MKJHds2XKC
In the end, nothing happened. But that play epitomizes Jokic’s night, when he had 26 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t near enough — combine that with the perceived lack of calls going his way, and Jokic was heated.
Throughout a 48-win regular season, Jokic was able to lift this Nuggets team up and have them playing well above the level one would expect from a team whose second and third best players were sidelined with injuries (an effort may well win Jokic his second consecutive MVP). Through two games of the playoffs, against a Warriors team finding its stride again, Jokic’s efforts have not been near enough.
Jokic needs to be at his peak — and he needs his teammates to step up — as the series shifts back to Denver Thursday night, or the Nuggets’ postseason run will be very short.