Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets superstar with three MVP awards under his belt and possibly more to come, has rarely been contained by defenders throughout his career. However, in a rare moment on Saturday, Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, a former Knicks head coach, managed to briefly disrupt him.

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. 

During a peculiar NBA playoffs scenario, Van Gundy along with Clippers trainer Jasen Powell attempted to grab the ball from Jokic while he was seated on the bench.

Despite the Nuggets trailing by just one point at that time and the Clippers avoiding a delay of game warning, the call was eventually upheld after Clippers head coach Ty Lue decided to risk his final challenge and timeout. Consequently, Denver retained possession of the ball.

“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.

He finished with 29 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Nuggets emerged from a wild end to the fourth quarter and overtime with a 112-110 win to take a 1-0 series lead.

“I mean, my guys have gotta step it up. If we’re allowed to just grab the ball and stop plays from happening and it’s not a delay of game, what have we been doing all year?” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman told reporters of the sequence with Van Gundy, Powell and Jokic, according to the Denver Post. “I was an assistant, so what was I doing all year? So if that is OK to do, and I guess that’s OK, then I guess we should start doing it. I’ve never seen that before, to be honest.”

A similar incident unfolded in the 2023 playoffs between Jokic and Mat Ishbia, when Jokic shoved the Suns owner while trying to get the ball back.

James Harden led the Clippers with 32 points, while Leonard added 22 and Ivica Zubac poured in 21 points and collected 13 rebounds.

But former Clippers guard Russell Westbrook hit clutch shots for the Nuggets down the stretch, including a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in regulation — after the sideline debacle and subsequent Clippers challenge that was unsuccessful — to give Denver a temporary two-point lead.

Harden converted a shot at the other end, though, and sent the game to overtime.

The teams will meet in Game 2 on Monday before the series shifts to Los Angeles.