In November 2021, the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets were facing each other in one of the early-season games of the NBA 75th Anniversary Season. However, one of the most heated exchanges of the season would take place after Markieff Morris of the Heat fouled Nikola Jokic with a hard shove as Jokic was bringing the ball up.
Jokic retaliated with a two-hand shove from behind Morris’ back that sent the forward to the floor. He’d suffer whiplash because of the push and hadn’t played since. Morris returned in the Heat’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and scored 6 points in 17 minutes of action.
After his return to the number one seed in the East, reporters asked Morris if he has spoken to Jokic about the injury and whether there has been any resolution between the two players over the matter. Markieff answered the only way a Morris brother would.
Asked if he heard from Nikola Jokic during these four months off, Markieff Morris said, "F–k, no, I don't want to hear from him. He did what he did. It is what it is."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 13, 2022
Considering how ugly the situation between Morris and Jokic got, it is no surprise that the pair haven’t decided to get in a room to hash this out. While many clearly point towards Markieff as the instigator in this situation, Jokic has also caught flak for letting his tempers lose and injuring a fellow basketball player.
Markieff’s twin brother Marcus Morris Sr. wasn’t happy about the incident, and neither were Jokic’s brothers, who almost got into a fight over the situation. The Heat and the Nuggets won’t be playing each other again this season, so we won’t get to see the rivals on the court unless Denver and Miami made it to the NBA Finals.
Jokic has had an MVP season while Morris has sat out the last four months healing from the push. Hopefully, we won’t see another incident like that between NBA players like that again as nobody wants to see players risk injury.
