When Luka Doncic engineered a switch in the second half of Denver’s rousing win in Dallas on Sunday, the Slovenian megastar got way more than he bargained for.
The Mavericks screened Nuggets rookie Christian Braun, so versatile forward Zeke Nnaji would be Doncic’s primary defender. Doncic drove and appeared to have a step on Nnaji, but the 6-foot-10 forward challenged from behind. When Nnaji swatted Doncic’s floater, he naturally celebrated the stop.
Doncic, a fierce competitor who was already emotionally charged, took the boast personally though Nnaji said that wasn’t his intention. That preempted this illuminating exchange, which Nnaji recounted from Tuesday’s shootaround before facing Detroit.