Jeff Van Gundy refuses to give ball to Nikola Jokic during tussle in wild playoff scene

Few defenders have found ways to slow down Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic during a career that has already featured three MVP awards and could add another in a few weeks, but for a few brief moments Saturday, Clippers assistant — and former Knicks head coach — Jeff Van Gundy found a way.

With 34 seconds left and the Clippers in position to use a challenge following a Kawhi Leonard turnover, Jokic wanted to inbound the ball quickly. 

Van Gundy and Clippers trainer Jasen Powell, though, tried to wrestle the ball away from him while sitting on the bench in a strange NBA playoffs scene.

The Nuggets trailed by one at the time and the Clippers escaped receiving even a delay of game warning, but after Lue risked using his final challenge and timeout, the call ended up being upheld — and Denver ended up getting possession — anyway.

“He looked pretty good,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun told reporters of Van Gundy, according to the Denver Post. “I mean, he held his ground. Held onto the ball pretty well. It’s pretty embarrassing for [Jokic]. But he was in the weight room afterward, so that’s good.”

Jokic joked to reporters that it was “two against one” and that’s why he couldn’t overtake both Van Gundy — in his first season as the Clippers’ lead assistant after spending the 2023-24 campaign as a senior consultant to the Celtics — and Powell.