The Minnesota Timberwolves took a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series of the NBA playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. During Game 4 in Minnesota, with less than two seconds left in the game, a fight broke out after Nikola Jokic ran up to Jaden McDaniels and confronted him for taking a layup, even when the Nuggets had stopped playing and given up on the game.
Subsequently, the NBA initiated an investigation into the altercation to decide on the penalties for the involved players. Fortunately for the Nuggets and the Timberwolves, no suspensions were handed out in the matter. This is the statement they released on the fines adjudicated to two players: Nikola Jokic and Julius Randle.
“Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been fined $50,000, and Minnesota Timberwolves forward-center Julius Randle has been fined $35,000 for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.”
“With 1.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 112-96 victory over the Nuggets in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on April 25 at Target Center, Jokić initiated the incident by confronting and shoving Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels.”
“Randle escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard- forward Bruce Brown. Jokić and Randle were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game,” the statement read.
This angle of the fight is WILD 😳 pic.twitter.com/KJuyD00SMy
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) April 26, 2026
Both Julius Randle and Nikola Jokic were ejected from the game for their unsportsmanlike conduct. Jokic’s night ended with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists while shooting 8-22 from the field (36.4 FG%). Meanwhile, Julius Randle had 15 points, nine rebounds, and two assists while going 6-16 from the floor (37.5 FG%).
The players involved in the initial skirmish (Jokic and McDaniels) spoke to the media after the game and stood their ground, saying they did not regret their actions. Moreover, Julius Randle vaguely claimed he didn’t know what happened in the incident.
It is a bit surprising that Jaden McDaniels has not received a fine despite holding Nikola Jokic’s jersey collar before Rudy Gobert, Bones Hyland, and the other Timberwolves players intervened.
Additionally, it was also a pertinent question on whether Aaron Gordon would face any action as he came onto the court from the bench during the altercation. However, since he did not get directly involved, it seems he has avoided any punishment.
But why McDaniels did not face action still surprises me. Maybe the league believed him when he said that he acted in self-defense when he saw a “big guy” approaching him.
Nonetheless, it is a sigh of relief for the Nuggets as even their star player, Nikola Jokic, was at risk of facing a suspension for this incident. But fortunately for them, he will be available in Game 5.
The Nuggets are currently in a win-or-go-home situation where they can no longer afford a loss in this series. And it is good news for them that both Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon will be available in an elimination scenario.
On the other hand, this is also a bit of a relief for the Timberwolves, who will be without their starting backcourt in the next game after a knee injury to Anthony Edwards (hyperextension) and a season-ending right Achilles tear to Donte DiVincenzo. Therefore, Randle’s veteran presence was even more essential for them going forward hereon.
It will be interesting to see how this series progresses from here, and the only thing that can be said for certain is that this rivalry guarantees us more action-packed basketball in Game 5, which will now be in Denver on Monday.
