HOUSTON — Before ejections were getting passed around in Detroit like Thanksgiving side dishes, Nikola Jokic made sure tensions were festering with a gesture of sarcastic motivation.
“Hey, wake up,” Jokic told a referee after disagreeing with a lane violation call early in the Nuggets’ game Monday night. It was caught on broadcast video.
“Wake up. Wake up,” he repeated, clapping as though he was encouraging a teammate. He received his first technical foul, setting the stage for his disqualification late in the first half.
Jokic’s frustrations with officiating became a theme during Denver’s similarly frustrating five-game road trip this week, sparking a new wave of debate about how the two-time MVP is guarded and whether he receives enough grace from referees in the post.