Aaron Gordon keeps it real about missed calls on Jokic against super physical OKC Thunder: "Fouling him point blank"
The Denver Nuggets couldn't match the OKC Thunder's intensity in Game 2 on Wednesday. Mark Daigneault's team came out of the gate firing. They led 45-21 after one quarter and ran away with a 149-106 win.
The Thunder also outhustled the Nuggets on both ends of the court; however, Aaron Gordon believes they were too physical with Nikola Jokic.
After the game, Gordon called out the referees for the lack of calls on Jokic. He said that he's not making excuses and would continue to play through it, but just wanted to put it out there.
"If they're going to let them push him and shove him or put two hands on him, root him out, the knees, elbows and all types of stuff they're doing to him, that's not necessarily legal, there's not much that you can do," Gordon told reporters. "(Jokic) got to play through it. If they're not going to call it, then they're not going to call it."
Gordon also complained about the officials calling Jokic for retaliating, and he urged them to be more consistent.
"They're fouling the guy," Gordon said. "They're calling the second foul almost every time. They're fouling Joker first, and then (Jokic) is reactionary, and they do get the second guy a lot of the time. But they're fouling him — point blank, period — throughout the game. It's a thing where you can't call every foul or you'd be calling a foul every single play, but they are fouling him."
Jokic fouled out after three quarters, and while it was not the first time he's had that kind of game in the playoffs, he doesn't get into foul trouble often.
The Denver Nuggets will need to be more physical
The playoffs are more physical, and the referees usually allow more contact. While the OKC Thunder may have been too rough on Nikola Jokic at times, as Aaron Gordon claimed, the final numbers showed that the game was evenly called.
The Denver Nuggets shot 32 free throws and made 25, while the Thunder sank 33 of 36 attempts.
Gordon's comments could put pressure on the referees as the series heads to Denver, but the Nuggets need to match the intensity and physicality of the Thunder.
