The Denver Nuggets took a rough loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and things could have been a bit different for them early in the fourth quarter. With Chet Holmgren in the game with five fouls, Russell Westbrook drove to the paint but was apparently hit in the face by the Thunder center. Unfortunately, there was no foul call, the Thunder went down the court, and scored off a fast break.
Head coach Michael Malone quickly called a timeout as Westbrook was still on the floor squinting his eyes, and during the timeout, Malone received a technical foul. In all honesty, it made sense why Malone was upset, because a foul call should have been called, and Holmgren would have had to come out of the game.
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Instead, the Thunder went on a big run in the fourth quarter and separated themselves from the Nuggets to ultimately get the win.
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For the Nuggets, Aaron Gordon came out of the game in the first quarter with an injury, and Nikola Jokic also seemed to have hurt his elbow in the first half. After that, he wasn't very effective from the field for the rest of the game and was a big part of why the Nuggets couldn't stay competitive in the end.
After the game, Jokic seemed to give a positive update on his elbow.
“Nikola Jokic said his elbow bothered him a little bit after that early fall, but he’s fine,” Nuggets reporter Vinny Benedetto wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Jokic did have an ice wrap around his elbow after the game, and he may still be feeling a little sting after suffering the injury. It doesn't sound like a serious injury, but he could miss their game tomorrow against the Thunder, depending on how he feels. Jokic had an elbow injury earlier in the season, and the hope is that he can get through this one, too.