Nikola Jokic on not getting the referees calls: 'I don't even try to talk to them anymore' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

After suffering a decisive loss against the Utah Jazz last night where the Jazz shot 29 free throws while the Nuggets only shot 8, reporters asked Nikola Jokic after the game whether he communicates with the officials during matches.

Free throws this season

77%13,7Points made:13,7Accuracy:76,8%Place in standings:29Record max:29Record min:5Most made FTs:Nikola JokicTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

"I didn't talk to (the refs) at all," Jokic said. "I’m really trying not to talk to them because I try to and then I get technical, ejected. So I don’t even try to talk to them anymore."

Denver insisted on playing through Jokic inside, but the big man only shot 3 free throws in the entire match. His teammate Aaron Gordon was clear on the matter, providing one of the strongest defenses for the player so far.

"He's not officiated the same way as everyone else," Gordon said. "He's the reigning MVP of the league and he's shooting like 3 free throws a game. It's not like we're begging for something that's not there, we're asking that he be officiated like everyone else."

Both Jokic and Gordon were the bright spots in an otherwise dim game against the Jazz. At one point, Jokic was so frustrated with the officiating that he went to bear-hug Gordon to demonstrate how Utah was guarding him.

Nikola Jokic is averaging tremendous numbers this season. He's 10th in the league in points (25.3), 2nd in rebounds (13.9), and 10th in assists (7.4), combining for 32.71 PER, in which the Serbian center leads the league.

Aaron Gordon is a quality complementing option on the court for Jokic, averaging 14.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 31.6 minutes of play.

Nikola Jokic highlights vs Jazz:

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.