An aggressive elbow that went undetected during Friday's epic marathon between the Denver Nuggets and Trail Blazers didn't sit well with Portland head coach Terry Stotts. Nikola Jokic threw a violent right elbow into Enes Kanter's injured left shoulder during the quadruple-overtime classic, which Kanter brought attention to on Twitter. "Yes, I have seen it and I think it was uncalled for," Stotts told reporters on Saturday, according to Yahoo Sports' Jason Owens. "I don’t know if the league will review it or not, but I certainly didn’t approve of it." Nuggets head coach Mike Malone was quick to defend his All-Star center, though, and said he doesn't have the personality to intentionally hurt someone. "Normal play," Malone said, according to ESPN's Royce Young. "I think Terry is off base there. Personally, I don't think it was anything malicious. Just like some of their screens in the first two games, I don't think there was anything malicious to it - with Kanter getting tossed into Torrey Craig. This is the playoffs. We're all big boys, let's go out and play the game accordingly." Following Portland's 140-137 victory, Kanter said he believed he re-separated his shoulder during the first overtime period and that he wasn't sure if he'd be able to compete in Game 4 on Sunday, according to the Oregonian's Joe Freeman. The 26-year-old initially hurt his shoulder in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. He finished with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds in 56 minutes, while Jokic recorded a triple-double of 33 points, 18 boards, and 14 assists in a staggering 65 minutes of action.<doc-sep>It’s playoff time, and that means teams fight a little harder in the postseason while scratching and clawing their way to a win anyway they can. Usually, those efforts stop short of throwing elbows or intentionally trying to hurt an opponent. This video of Nikola Jokic throwing a hard elbow into Enes Kanter made the rounds on social media during the Portland Trail Blazers’ historic, four overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday. But after the game, the Trail Blazers center himself caught it on his Twitter feed and took exception to the play. Kanter then called the attention of the league and the official NBA referee Twitter account asking them to look into why a foul wasn’t called. Keep in mind that Kanter has been playing injured since the Blazers’ Game 5 win over the Thunder last week with a separated left shoulder. Did Jokic know that, or was he simply caught up in the emotion of the game? Will there be any postgame disciplinary action taken by the league? That remains to be seen. Here’s how basketball fans in Portland and around the NBA reacted to the video: It may be just me but I think that when one player purposely aims for an injury, Shoulder in this case, it should automatically be a flagrant 2. — Teej (@teej3333) May 4, 2019 the whole thing about why this is gross is not that it’s a foul it’s that Jokic knows which shoulder is injured, and this is completely unprofessional and he’s going to get a talking to from some vets this offseason about bush league garbage like this https://t.co/8p5B5sVQy7 — Dane Delgado (@danegado) May 4, 2019 #Jokic purposely hits Enes #Kanter’s injured shoulder. This has nothing to do with basketball. Very desperate behavior. Kanter shows good character by not responding to his unfair and provocative hit. https://t.co/pvMpmN5z4b — Ismail Akbulut (@ismaildenver) May 4, 2019 Jokić boxing out is not a dirty play. If Kanter bumps with him like most other guys do it doesn’t look bad. Dude just flopped. Jokić didn’t hook his or anything. What a baby. It’s not his fault that Kanter is playing with one arm. — FRAUDS R US - NUGS IN 6 (@NORTHERE) May 4, 2019 that's clearly intent to harm when you box out you get in front of the player and hold your arms back to keep the other player away Jokic clearly went for the injured shoulder because he is a dirty player and soon he will be on summer vacation. — Albert Hoy (@albert_hoy) May 4, 2019 Jokic next time he see Kanter pic.twitter.com/5fHEHGwhJC — ducebiggie (@ducebiggie) May 4, 2019 While the world is busy saying how great Jokic is, here's what he does to @Enes_Kanter and his well-publicised shoulder injury. I don't wanna hear "The NBA got soft". This is a deliberate attempt to injure an opponent and should come with the appropriate punishment. @nba pic.twitter.com/sSFeKALRkv — Andy (@shutupandy) May 4, 2019 . @Enes_Kanter complaining to nba refs on TWITTER about a box out by Jokic is a whole new level of soft I never thought I’d see a professional athlete succumb to. 😂 — MxC Jimmy (@JeremiahKarr) May 4, 2019 I’m too pissed off at #jokic for hurting @Enes_Kanter that I can’t sleep 😴 pic.twitter.com/jJMPXyp0Nr — Dasya Peterson (@Grisettepetey) May 4, 2019 For perspective on how hard-fought this series has been, the play above also comes on the heels of Jokic simply shoving Kanter into Torrey Craig at the end of Game 2, which nearly started a scuffle between the teams: We just gonna act like Jokic didn’t push him? https://t.co/XeOQ9KUSSf — Justin Gillerman (@JKGill3) May 2, 2019 Following Game 3, Kanter is getting all the treatment he can. He will likely be questionable to to play in Game 4, but he seems like he is leaning towards playing once its time to suit up: From what you’ve seen, do you think Nikola Jokic is a dirty player? We’ll leave the voting up to you: - Tim Brown, The Oregonian/OregonLive | @timfsbrown<doc-sep>The Portland Trail Blazers secured a historic victory on Friday night, taking down the Denver Nuggets, 140-137, in quadruple-overtime to earn a 2-1 series lead. But their big man, Enes Kanter, wasn't focused on celebrating after the win. Once again dealing with the pain of his separated shoulder, which he re-injured during Game 3, Kanter also took to social media to complain about some physical play from his Nuggets counterpart, Nikola Jokic. At 3 a.m. ET, Kanter posted a clip of Jokic delivering an elbow to his chest and injured left shoulder during a box-out attempt on a free throw. "Take a freaking look at this please @OfficialNBARefs @NBAOfficial," Kanter wrote. When asked about the play on Saturday, Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts agreed, saying it was "uncalled for" and adding that he "certainly didn't approve of it." In what should come as little surprise though, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone came to his star man's defense. Via ESPN: "Normal play," Malone said. "I think Terry is off base there. Personally, I don't think it was anything malicious. Just like some of their screens in the first two games, I don't think there was anything malicious to it -- with Kanter getting tossed into Torrey Craig. This is the playoffs. We're all big boys, let's go out and play the game accordingly. "I have known Nikola Jokic for four years," Malone said. "He doesn't have that kind of personality, he doesn't have that DNA gene where he's going to go out there and make non-basketball plays and try to hurt anybody or do anything that is beyond the limits of what is sportsmanship and what is not sportsmanship. So I would definitely not agree with Terry's assessment." As Malone referenced in his quote, there have already been a few incidents in this series in which things have been physical and even verged on altercation. During Game 2, Craig took a hard, but accidental elbow from Zach Collins that left him bloodied. Then later in the game, after he had returned wearing a protective mask, Craig was once again rocked, this time by Kanter. That caused a bit of a scene, as Nuggets players arrived to confront Kanter for the play. But as the replays showed, Kanter was clearly pushed by Jokic, which forced him into Craig. During that confrontation, fans also got into the act by fighting in the stands and were ejected. Now, as we've seen from Kanter and Stotts, the Blazers feel things are going a bit too far. At this point, it's unclear if the league will review the incident Kanter brought attention to, or whether Jokic will face any punishment. But it does seem reasonable that the league and the refs will make a point to pay close attention to this matchup moving forward so nothing goes overboard.<doc-sep>On Friday night, the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets suffered through four overtime periods before a verdict was reached. Portland emerged victorious, winning Game 3 by a final score of 140-137. The win is huge for Portland as it looks to take a significant hold on the series at home. However, it came at a cost. Trail Blazers forward Enes Kanter re-injured his slightly separated shoulder on Friday night. Already reeling from the injury, Kanter received some extra punishment from Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. The Denver forward made sure to take a few shots at Kanter throughout the night. After the game was over, Kanter himself took to Twitter to call out one specific incident. The video captures Jokic’s attempt to dish out a hard shove to Kanter’s injured shoulder. Check it out. Fans watching from home weren’t happy with Jokic’s rough style of play on Friday night. The Nuggets star did his best to keep Denver in the game, with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists on the night. In the end, Portland walked out with a win and took a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 of the series is set for Sunday night. The game will be broadcast on TNT at 7:00 p.m. ET.<doc-sep>
Enes Kanter details continuing to play in the Trail Blazers' Game 3 win over the Nuggets despite aggravating his separated left shoulder. (0:28) PORTLAND, Ore. -- At some point during Friday's marathon Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic threw an elbow into Enes Kanter's injured left shoulder, to which Kanter took exception on social media after the game. Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts on Saturday called the play by Jokic "uncalled-for" and that he "certainly didn't approve of it." Stotts said he hasn't heard if the league would review the play or not. The league routinely reviews plays after games and can retroactively assess technical or flagrant fouls if warranted. Nuggets coach Michael Malone disagrees with Stotts. "Normal play," Malone said. "I think Terry is off base there. Personally, I don't think it was anything malicious. Just like some of their screens in the first two games, I don't think there was anything malicious to it -- with Kanter getting tossed into Torrey Craig. This is the playoffs. We're all big boys, let's go out and play the game accordingly. "I have known Nikola Jokic for four years," Malone said. "He doesn't have that kind of personality, he doesn't have that DNA gene where he's going to go out there and make nonbasketball plays and try to hurt anybody or do anything that is beyond the limits of what is sportsmanship and what is not sportsmanship. So I would definitely not agree with Terry's assessment." Kanter played 56 minutes in the quadruple-overtime game despite dealing with a separated left shoulder that has caused him pain since he injured it in Game 5 of Portland's first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kanter said after Friday's game he thought he "separated my shoulder more," and that he had to tuck his arm into his jersey because he couldn't carry it. Kanter finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Blazers took a 2-1 lead. His status for Sunday's Game 4 is unknown, though the Turkish big man has said he hopes to be ready to play. The Blazers didn't hold a formal practice Saturday, and Stotts didn't have an official update on Kanter's status. He did say Kanter was at the practice facility getting treatment on his shoulder.