Jokic vs. Morris brothers beef, explained: The shove that led to a suspension and heated Twitter feud

Gilbert McGregor

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Jokic vs. Morris brothers beef, explained: The shove that led to a suspension and heated Twitter feud image

On Monday, Nov. 29, the Heat and Nuggets will meet for the second and final time of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Monday's meeting comes exactly three weeks after the first meeting between the teams, a dominant Nuggets win that will be remembered more for the late-game incident stemming from Heat forward Markieff Morris committing a hard foul on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who retaliated with a hard shove that sent Morris to the ground.

MORE: Jokic ejected after altercation with Morris

The incident and ensuing fallout have dominated discussions over the last month, with Monday's game serving as a date that has been circled on the calendars of many.

How did things get to this point? Here's a recap of what has transpired since the errant foul.

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Jokic vs. Morris brothers: The shove that led to a suspension and heated Twitter feud

The shove

As the Nuggets led by 17 with under three minutes remaining, Jokic was pushing the pace in transition before Morris committed a hard take foul to stop the break.

Jokic, visibly upset by the hard foul, immediately retaliated, shoving an unsuspecting Morris to the ground. After attempting to stand, Morris fell back to the ground, where he was tended to by Heat training staff while tensions rose among other players on the court, with Jimmy Butler expressing a desire to escalate conflict with Jokic in the locker room area.

Morris was offered a stretcher, but would ultimately walk off on his own power.

Postgame aftermath

After the game, Denver photographer Aaron Ontiveroz captured a photo of Butler and other members of the Heat waiting in the hallway for Jokic, with Miami general manager Andy Elisburg standing in the way.

Heat players were not made available to the media following the game, with head coach Erik Spoelstra saying that "a video and picture is worth 1,000 words."

Jokic, who did speak with the media, immediately expressed regret, saying, "it's a stupid play. I feel bad. I'm not supposed to react that way."

Jokic Brothers take to Twitter 

In response to the incident, Markieff Morris' twin brother, LA Clippers forward Marcus Morris, shared his thoughts on the situation, saying "waited till bro turned his back [shaking my head]. NOTED."

Not long after, a Twitter with the handle @JokicBrothers (that has since been deleted), responded to Marcus Morris, tweeting "Your brother made a dirty play first. If you want to make a step further be sure we will be waiting for you."

MORE: Jokic's brothers join Twitter, send warning to Marcus Morris

Mike Singer of The Denver Post received a text message that confirmed that it was one of Jokic's older brothers running the account.

After tweeting "Momma said don't talk on social media no more! Well there you have it," Marcus Morris got wind of the Jokic Brothers' tweet and responded, saying "you got the right ones believe that!"

Markieff Morris was also active on Twitter, addressed the incident, saying "I can take my licks and keep pushing," jokingly giving Jokic a 1-0 advantage after the episode.

Suspension and fallout

Jokic received a one-game suspension for "forcefully shoving Miami Heat Markieff Morris to the floor from behind," while Morris received a $50,000 fine for a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2, which initiated an on-court altercation.

Butler was fined $30,000 "for attempting to escalate the altercation and failing to comply with an NBA Security interview as part of the review process pertaining to an on-court matter."

Morris has been sidelined with whiplash stemming from the incident, missing each of the Heat's games since Nov. 8. The most recent reports indicate that Morris will miss at least 10 games with the injury.

10 games will have passed when the Heat host the Nuggets on Monday.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.