Heat concerned for Morris after 'dangerous, dirty play' by Nuggets' Jokic
MANILA, Philippines – The Miami Heat are paying close attention to Markieff Morris' health following his heated altercation with reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in their 113-96 loss against the Denver Nuggets on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).
Late in the fourth quarter, Morris and Jokic were tangled in a scuffle that resulted in two flagrant 2 calls.
Morris checked Jokic as a "take foul" as the Nuggets big man was going down for a fast break play, but the Serbian had an outburst and threw a hard elbow to Morris' back.
It resulted to an apparent neck injury for Morris, which Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said they are monitoring closely.
"Obviously, we just wanted to make sure that Kieff was and is okay, you know... He's moving right now in the locker room," Spoelstra said after the game.
But the coach did not mince his words in describing Jokic's actions against his ward.
"That was a very dangerous, dirty play. I thought Kieff took a foul, and it was one of those fastbreak fouls that he did with his shoulder," said Spoelstra.
"The play after that, that's just uncalled for and it would have looked a lot different, this whole thing could have been a lot uglier if Markieff was actually facing Jokic. The fact that he had his back turned, and [Jokic] made a play like that, you know, blindsiding him, that's just a very dangerous play," he added.
There haven't been any updates so far on Morris' status on his neck after the scuffle.
Jokic spoke out on the play after the game.
"It was a stupid play. I feel bad. I'm not supposed to react that way," said the Serbian big man.
"I thought it was going to be a take foul but I thought it was a dirty play and I needed to protect myself," he added.
Spoelstra disagreed with Jokic there, though, as the veteran tactician insisted that Morris' initial contact with the Nuggets star was a regular foul.
"I thought it was a take foul. I just watched it. At the time of it, I thought it was a physical take foul, but certainly not a flagrant 2," he said.
Both teams will need to adjust to the repercussions of the scuffle as flagrant 2 fouls usually result in suspensions for the players involved, including a fine.
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