Nikola Jokic wrestles Jeff Van Gundy for the basketball on Clippers’ bench: ‘He was in the weight room afterward’

If Nikola Jokic had a nickel for every time a middle-aged man challenged him to a tournament of basketball tug-of-war during a playoff series he would have two nickels With seconds remaining in a tense series opener between the Nuggets and Clippers Jokic tried to seize the ball from the Los Angeles sideline after a Kawhi Leonard turnover his goal being to inbound it right now only to encounter resistance from none other than Clippers lead assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy Van Gundy joined forces with the crew s longtime trainer Jasen Powell to prevent Jokic from yanking the ball away in a bizarre interruption of Denver s eventual Battle win The visiting bench wasn t issued a delay-of-game despite Jokic s protests I mean my guys have gotta step it up If we re allowed to just grab the ball and stop plays from happening and it s not a delay of contest what have we been doing all year Nuggets interim coach David Adelman mentioned I was an assistant so what was I doing all year So if that is OK to do and I guess that s OK then I guess we should start doing it I ve never seen that before to be honest Van Gundy joined Ty Lue s staff in Los Angeles this season after being laid off by ESPN where he was the structure s lead NBA color commentator for more than a decade He has been a head coach for the Knicks Rockets and Gang USA He looked pretty good I mean he held his ground Nuggets guard Christian Braun declared Held onto the ball pretty well It s pretty embarrassing for Jok But he was in the weight room afterward so that s good Turns out Jokic was using that time to brainstorm an excuse for why he couldn t overpower Van Gundy and Powell Two against one he announced after the - win Jokic has made it one of his career-long missions to catch opposing defenses sleeping at a lull in the action After dead balls he often urges referees to hand it over to him as promptly as accomplishable so he can rush the ball up the floor at minimum preventing the defense from getting set It s what caused Thunder coach Mark Daigneault to find a loophole in the NBA rulebook in March implementing a permanent sub concept against Denver that was promptly shut down by the personnel In this instance Jokic had an especially pressing motivation to go fast The Nuggets were down - in the last minute and the Clippers were considering whether to use their last challenge it was unclear if the ball had been last touched by Leonard or Jamal Murray I didn t see it I didn t see it He did what he needed to do to try to get the ball in fast Lue reported But that s smart If a unit has a chance to challenge you want to get the ball in expeditiously Tell our guys to do the same thing But he is the best at it In the end the deceleration of play ironically favored Denver Lue used the challenge and the call was upheld It didn t have any impact on the competition so it is what it is Adelman noted I m sure the league will look at it Jokic didn t seem as amused by the situation as Adelman and Braun The three-time MVP center alluded to his playoff case with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia who famously flailed backward in a theatrical display after Jokic similarly tried to take the ball from him The only difference was that Ishbia was technically a fan watching from a courtside seat whereas Van Gundy and Powell are officially association personnel Jokic was issued a technical foul for the Ishbia occurrence It seems like it s part of basketball nowadays Jokic mentioned Saturday I think definitely it s not supposed to happen Because I think the NBA wants to make a quick-speed match Inbound the ball quicker Because that was definitely emphasized before the season They announced that sometimes when I tie my shoes and this and that and steal a couple of seconds they announced that I cannot do that anymore But it seems like they can do it The Nuggets took a - lead on the ensuing possession setting up overtime Jokic finished Meeting with points nine rebounds and assists But the Nuggets were held to fast-break points They were one of the best running teams in the NBA this season leading Lue to open his pregame news conference by saying fittingly it turned out that his biggest emphasis throughout the last week was transition defense Related Articles Why David Adelman turned away from Michael Porter Jr to close Nuggets Meeting win Renck Russell Mania is maddening But Nuggets don t win without Westbrook PHOTOS Denver Nuggets beat Los Angeles Clippers - in Tournament of first-round NBA playoff series Nuggets-Clippers Match -pointers Russell Westbrook rewards David Adelman s trust down stretch Russell Westbrook drains crucial shot as Nuggets come back for Match win over Clippers He s done that his whole career He tries to get it out quick and tries to play with pace Braun commented And I think they re pretty urgent to grab the ball too Which is different Which is gripping It s a good strategy Slowed us down a little bit They didn t allow us to do that tonight But did the Nuggets know that Van Gundy had that kind of physical toughness in him Yeah Adelman disclosed scoffing He s a pretty competitive guy obviously And an amazing coach That s what this series is going to be Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis