The Chicago crowd was excited to see reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic play his one game of the season in the city, with the team even branding the game as Serbian Heritage Night. However, the referees ruined that experience by ejecting Jokic in the first half of the game for complaining about a no-call.

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This is a preposterous call to make. NBA refereeing has been on a serious downturn in recent years, but ejecting Jokic for complaining about a call is just not sound at all. Jokic wasn’t even on a technical already that the referee would have no choice but to send the two-time MVP out of the game for a second technical. Unless Jokic said something completely inappropriate, this is a very hard ejection to justify.

The Bulls crowd was full of people who came to see the Serbian center ball out on Serbian Heritage Night.

“Chicago is home to the largest population of Serbians outside of Serbia. Jokic plays there once a year. What a shame for him to get ejected for THAT.”

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Those fans were robbed of a proper game because a referee got his ego hurt. Given the ludicrous calls we saw during Lakers vs. Mavs as well, it seems referees need to evaluate how they’re approaching games. Some fans have even said referees are getting drunk with power, and we’re seeing it ruin games.

The Nuggets Managed To Win Without Nikola Jokic

The ejection led to a Bulls crowd that came to see Nikola Jokic play and watch their team lose their 17th game of the season while not even being able to see the best player in the world do the damage.

Denver won 114-106, with Reggie Jackson scoring a game-high 25 points. This was a team effort as Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Julian Strawther, and Christian Braun all scored in double digits.

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Zach LaVine is still sidelined for the Bulls, but Coby White had another fantastic performance with 27 points. Jokic’s absence from the game was fully utilized by Nikola Vucevic, who finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and a defeat.

Aaron Gordon joked about the Jokic ejection after the game, saying it was a test to see if the Nuggets could make it happen without Jokic on the court.

“We just want Jokić to get ejected as quick as he can … see if we can make it happen from there.”

The Nuggets, who were the favorites to win this game, had a happy ending in the end. I do feel sorry for the Bulls supporters who attended to watch Jokic play basketball but were let down by an overly strict referee.

What precisely Jokic said to the referee that called for an ejection should be made public by the NBA. This was an extremely rare circumstance that had the worst conceivable effect on the supporters’ enjoyment of the game.