By the time Nikola Jokic’s fifth foul forced him from Game 2, Denver trailed by nine points. And the basketball world was left reeling. Ejected midway through the third, Jokić’s absence extinguished Denver’s rally as OKC maintained a double‑digit edge. Denver’s on‑court woes crystallized when the plus‑minus chart flashed -36 next to Jokic. Afterward, teammates rallied around Jokic—except one former Maverick turned analyst.

Jokic logged 17 points (6‑of‑16), eight rebounds, and six assists; Aaron Gordon added 10, and Jamal Murray contributed 14. Yet Denver still crumbled once its pivot was benched. This might have even surprised Magic Johnson, who had high praise for both the team in Game 1 and especially Jokic.

One analyst believes that Jokic did it for a reason. Before Game 3, the Run It Back show crew shared their take on the game and Jokic’s foul situation. “He was trying to foul out,” argued Parsons. “Like, he was trying to send a message. The game was over. Like Westbrook, I don’t know how he didn’t get tossed,” Parsons explained.

Chandler Parsons believes Nikola Jokic’s flurry of fouls was anything but accidental. He frames it as a veteran’s deliberate tactic. “As vet guys sometimes you do that to set the tone—like, look, we’re not done; we still have fight.” The 36-year-old said.

“This game might be over, but at the end of the day it’s one to one. We already stole one; we’re going back to the crib, which is the hardest arena and the hardest altitude to play—and we already have that advantage for us,” Parsons explained.

That was Parsons’ take on the situation. Soon after the game, a Denver Nuggets star also shared his perspective in defense of the superstar. The playoffs have gotten a bit physical for the Serbian player. As Aaron Gordon cited, the Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly had the same physical approach in Oklahoma City’s 149-106 win over the Nuggets. After the Nuggets star’s foul, Gordon shared his take on it.

Aaron Gordon didn’t mince words after watching his teammate get wrangled in the paint. In his view, the Thunder’s contact was blatant. And it went largely unpunished:

“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,” Gordon argued. Gordon’s critique puts pressure on the officiating crew—and hgihlights how OKC’s bruising defense may have forced Jokić into Parsons’s “tone‑setting” scenario

Parsons, who justified Jokic’s action as one of being a true great teammate, wasn’t impressed after game 1 to give the ultimate praise to Jokic. 

Why did Chandler Parsons snub Nikola Jokic from his top 10?

More than five players from the Thunder scored in double digits in Game 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 34 points, shooting 11-13 from the field. He had help from Chet Holmgren, who dished out 15 points in 26 minutes of playing time. Jalen Williams added 17 points.

By stringing together those performances, Oklahoma City sealed Jokic below 20 points for only the second time this postseason. It’s a stark contrast to Game 1. That’s where the Serbian superstar tallied 42 points and 22 rebounds to rally the Denver Nuggets to a 121‑119 win.

However, just a few days ago, the former Mavericks star argued that Jokic isn’t a top-ten player yet. Comparing the resumes of older-generation players Kareem Abdul Jabbar and more, he believes the Serbian star might not yet be a fitting choice.

In a mid‑April discussion on The Athletic’s Legacy Debate podcast, Parsons placed Jokic alongside legends. But he stopped short of slotting him in the elite top ten. “Again, you’re going to go back to Kareem and the old guys back in the day that had better resumes technically. But the guy, no matter what he is, 10, 15, 20, he is one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen,” he explained.. He pointed specifically to Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar’s six NBA titles and six MVPs, and Magic Johnson’s five rings. The former Grizzlies star argued that Jokic, with “just” two MVPs and one Finals appearance so far, needs more silverware to breach that threshold.

Beyond rings, Parsons also questioned Jokic’s ability to keep stacking MVPs and deep playoff runs. He suggested that if Jokic’s peak plateaued at his current career arc—two MVPs, two Finals appearances, one ring—he might settle just outside the very top echelon. Yet Parsons concedes Jokic’s transcendent skillset:

“He is one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen,” Parsons reiterated.

For Denver, these critiques serve as both a challenge and an inspiration. As the series now stands knotted 1–1, the Nuggets can use Parsons’s barbs to fuel Game 3 urgency. Their objective: capture home-court advantage again, lean on Jokic’s playoff pedigree, and chase the kind of dominant performance that silences critics.