“Didnt know Stevie Wonder was a ref” – OBVIOUS FOUL on Nikola Jokic in final 30 seconds gets missed, NBA Twitter accuse league of CHEATING

Nuggets fans are furious after a no-call on Deandre Ayton cost them Game 4 against the Suns.


“Didnt know Stevie Wonder was a ref” – OBVIOUS FOUL on Nikola Jokic in final 30 seconds gets missed, NBA Twitter accuse league of CHEATING

DeAndre Ayton's tight defense on Nikola Jokic (Via Twitter)

Nikola Jokic did everything he could to keep the Denver Nuggets alive in their second-round series against the Phoenix Suns. He scored a career-high 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting, along with four rebounds and 11 assists. But it wasn’t enough, as the Nuggets lost 124-129 and the Suns evened out the series at 2-2.

Devin Booker continued his incredible playoff form, scoring 36 points, while shooting 14-of-18 from the field. Kevin Durant played his role to perfection, as he too scored 36 points to help the Suns stay alive in the series and not surrender a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets. While the result is in the books, Jokic’s final turnover, with 27.7 seconds left, will haunt him and his team for a long time.

YouTube video

Jokic had the ball at the top of the key, looking to make a play. He passed to Jamal Murray on the wing, then got it back after setting a screen. He had a mismatch against Landry Shamet, who had switched onto him. Jokic drove to the basket, but Shamet stayed with him and poked the ball loose. Deandre Ayton dove on the floor and grabbed the ball while Jokic tried to wrestle it away from him, which resulted in a jump ball.

FS Video

That’s when things got controversial. As Ayton jumped for the ball, he appeared to pull Jokic down by his right shoulder, preventing him from getting up and contesting the jump ball. The referees did not call a foul on Ayton, who won the tip and secured ball possession for the Suns.

The Nuggets had no challenge left, as they had used it on an out-of-bounds call just a few seconds earlier.

Also Read: “F**ked around and found out” – Nikola Jokic SHOVES Suns owner who flops embarrassingly

NBA Twitter slams refs for missing Ayton’s foul on Nikola Jokic in Game 4 loss

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Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic drives past Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton (Via Getty Images)

Nuggets fans were outraged by the no-call and took to Twitter to express their frustration and accuse the league of cheating. Many fans pointed out that Ayton fouled Jokic, and that the referees missed an obvious call that could have changed the outcome of the game.

One fan wrote: “Didn’t know Stevie Wonder was a ref” – referring to the blind singer-songwriter. Here are some reactions from NBA Twitter:

https://twitter.com/HoodiReaves/status/1655401092807823361
https://twitter.com/KingT4140/status/1655405038011817984
https://twitter.com/mvpbron4x/status/1655401974949347332

The Nuggets will face the Suns on Tuesday at home, where they hope to take a 3-2 lead. They will need more than just Jokic’s heroics to do so. They will need to play better defense, rebound better, move the ball better, and get more contributions from their role players. The Nuggets will also need some luck with the officiating, as they hope to get some calls in their favor and avoid any more controversial incidents with the Suns or their owner.

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