Lu Dort admitted he crossed line by tripping Nikola Jokić on purpose

[ASFN Admin]

In a heated game between two Western Conference powerhouses and NBA Finals contenders, Lu Dort crossed a line.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of a heated battle between the Denver Nuggets and reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder last Friday night, Thunder guard Lu Dort deliberately tripped three-time league MVP Nikola Jokić while Jokić was walking up the floor, who didn't suspect anything like that would happen. Tripping, especially on purpose, is considered one of the more dangerous plays in basketball because you never know how someone will land on the floor when they couldn't prepare to brace themselves for their fall.

The aftermath saw a furious Jokić try to confront Dort over the dirty play, with both teams' benches holding them back. The referees on hand rightfully assessed a flagrant 2 to Dort for the trip, which is an immediate ejection from the game. It was the fourth ejection of Dort's seven-year career. It also sparked debate about the line the Thunder often tread with their signature physicality.

In a new story per The Athletic's Joel Lorenzi, Dort admitted to taking the Thunder's mandate on physicality too far. There's getting into the chest of offensive players, then there's performing dangerous non-basketball plays for no good reason. Of course, anyone with eyes could see that what Dort did was dangerous and unnecessary. But Dort still has to say it himself.

And he did, confessing that tripping Jokić fit the bill of the latter dangerous non-basketball description, as he let his emotions get the best of him in a big game.

More from The Athletic:

“It was a physical game throughout the whole game,” Dort told The Athletic after Tuesday’s win over the Chicago Bulls. “Obviously, that was unnecessary contact [on Jokić] that I shouldn’t have done. I got the worst of it by getting thrown out the game. But yeah, it was a high-level game. I’m a competitor, so I compete.”

He [Dort] later added: “That’s a physical game and there’s limits to it. And I went over the limit.”

Kudos to Dort for admitting he crossed a line here. Once again, there's something to be said for defending hard with grit and tenacity. No one begrudges Dort for doing so. But tripping an opponent on purpose and potentially getting them hurt? There's no place for that in high-level basketball. Even Dort understands the distinction.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Lu Dort took responsibility for tripping Nikola Jokić on purpose

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