The opening tip  Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was ejected from Game four after a flagrant-two foul. (David Zalubowski/AP) | For Nikola Jokic, an unforgettable MVP season ends in regrettable fashion Nikola Jokic's MVP campaign was defined by reliability and command: The Serbian center didn't miss a game during the condensed 72-game season and orchestrated a high-level offense, no matter how many of his Denver Nuggets teammates were lost to injury. As he peered over defenders, whipped passes through tight windows and lofted one-legged jumpers, Jokic's nightly brilliance was one of the most predictable elements of basketball's unpredictable year. Unfortunately, Jokic lost control and didn't quite make it to the finish line. Denver's season ended Sunday with a 125-118 home loss to the Phoenix Suns, who completed a sweep of the second-round series and advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2010. Well before Suns Coach Monty Williams and guard Chris Paul embraced in the afterglow of their shared triumph, Jokic had already been jettisoned to the locker room with a flagrant foul ejection. Late in the third quarter, the three-time all-star attempted to stop play by fouling Cameron Payne in the backcourt. As Jokic swiped down with force, he appeared to make contact with Payne's face and shoulder, sending the 6-foot-1 guard sprawling to the court. Devin Booker immediately took exception to the play, standing face-to-face with Jokic before teammates came over to break them up. After a video review, the officials determined that Jokic's foul was a flagrant-two, a designation given to contact that is both "unnecessary" and "excessive." Denver was forced to play the final 15-plus minutes without him. "I tried to make a hard foul," Jokic said. "Did I hit him? Did I not hit him? I don't know. I say sorry if I did. I didn't want to injure him or hit him in the head on purpose. I watched the game in the locker room to cool off a little bit." Nuggets Coach Michael Malone said that he didn't believe that Jokic should have been ejected because he was making a play on the ball and because, in his view, there was only "marginal contact" to Payne's face. Malone called it a "frustration foul" and added that he remained uncertain about the referees' explanation for their ruling. "It was something along the lines of wind up, malicious intent, some other mumbo jumbo," Malone said. "Obviously, you lose the MVP, it's going to make it even harder to stave off elimination." With or without Jokic down the stretch, the Nuggets were cooked. Denver, the only one of the four conference finalists from the Disney World bubble to advance to the second round, simply didn't have the horses to keep up with Phoenix. In the first round, Jokic filleted the Portland Trail Blazers' putrid defense to lead Denver to a six-game series win. But the Nuggets' many injury issues finally caught up to them against the Suns: star guard Jamal Murray and wing PJ Dozier both missed the entire playoffs, forward Michael Porter Jr. tweaked his back in Game 1 against Phoenix and guard Will Barton was sidelined until Game 2. As a result, Denver brought a knife to the backcourt gunfight — relying on undersized rookie Facundo Campazzo and journeyman Austin Rivers to match up with Paul and his all-star partner Booker. Paul was magnificent throughout the series, dicing up Denver's defense with high pick-and-rolls. Across the series, the 36-year-old guard averaged 25.5 points and registered 41 assists against just five turnovers. While the Nuggets lacked the perimeter size and length to bother the Suns guards, Jokic also played a role in their defensive shortcomings. With Denver hoping to keep its 6-foot-11 center close to the paint whenever possible, Paul took advantage by regularly turning to his patented pull-up midrange jumper. This was a classic case of one star's biggest strength brutally exploiting a rival star's biggest weakness. Jokic isn't quick enough to step out to defend Paul and then recover to protect the basket, allowing Paul to take target practice for four straight wins. Remarkably, Paul shot 24-for-43 (55.8 percent) on shots between 10 and 19 feet against Denver. "Years ago, when I was with the Clippers, the whole league went to this drop defense," Paul said during his postgame interview on TNT. "If that's what you're going to give up, I'm going to try to perfect it." Jokic and Malone both said Sunday that they felt the Nuggets had a chance to win the title before Murray's injury in April. Malone added that the pandemic campaign — coming so quickly after Denver's lengthy bubble run — was the "hardest season for me by far" of his nearly 20-year coaching career. "Very disappointing to end the series getting swept at home," Malone said. "As I told our players, this loss should sting. No one likes to lose. When you find some time to reflect on the season, remember all the great things we did this year. I'm not going to allow this series to define the season." The Nuggets sought to shore up Jokic's supporting cast by making a midseason trade for forward Aaron Gordon, and its top offseason priority — aside from catching up on rest — will be filling out its threadbare backcourt. Denver will need to acquire more plus defenders to offset Jokic's limitations on that end and to provide greater lineup flexibility in future postseasons. Jokic, for his part, wasn't about to dwell on the rotten ending. After getting a chance to collect himself in the locker room during the fourth quarter, the man in the middle of Denver's plans had already moved on. "That didn't go how we wanted," he said. "They beat us. They whooped our a--. The whole team needs to walk out of the arena with heads up. It is what it is. Sometimes you need to accept the loss. The whole season was great until the last four games." | 
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