“That’s something you don’t do,” Wall said. “No matter what’s going on between players and teammates. That’s something you don’t do to a coach. That’s like me calling a coach a certain name. Hopefully he apologizes to [Brooks] but luckily we got the win.”

Jokic scored a game-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting but Washington will remember his night for a single shot — the one directed at Brooks.

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The Wizards led 104-102 with 32.2 seconds remaining, when players meandered to the sideline for a timeout. The stoppage of play happened near the Nuggets’ offensive side of the court and in front of the Wizards’ bench. Such a moment happens thousands of times during an NBA season; after the whistle, coaches walk far into the court as players trudge along and dodge their opponents. But this time, as Brooks approached the paint area, Jokic walked by and appeared to raise his left arm just before brushing into Brooks.

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“I didn’t see it,” Bradley Beal said. “All I [saw] was Coach Brooks with his hands in the air . . . and I’m like, ‘Ahh, man! What happened?’ ”

The contact spun Brooks around, and he immediately complained to the nearest referee. Jokic was assessed a technical foul and Beal hit the free throw. Then on the next possession with 12 seconds to play, Beal scored on a driving layup, effectively ending Denver’s chances.

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“I’m sorry because I put my team in a bad position,” Jokic said. “I tried to look at the score, and I hit the coach.”

After the game, Brooks — who responded to an earlier question about Jokic in a complimentary fashion, describing him as a potential all-star — downplayed the incident.

“It was an awkward, weird situation,” Brooks said. “I don’t think he did it on purpose but it happened. I moved on and the referee had to do what he had to do and move on. But I never had that happen before.”

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Although Denver Coach Mike Malone stood up for his player by expressing how he felt Brooks had “embellished” the contact, the officials’ crew chief, Derrick Stafford, spoke to a pool reporter following the game and explained that Jokic received the technical foul because “he intentionally walked into Scotty Brooks on his way to the bench.”

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Inside the visitors’ locker room, Wizards players agreed with Stafford. Gortat offered a stinging rebuke of Jokic, highlighting how the act and technical foul torpedoed his team.

“He’s not allowed to do that. Whatever it was, he didn’t see it or he [saw] it and he didn’t move away. He can’t do that. He can’t do that,” Gortat said. “This is lack of respect for the game. Lack of respect for our coach, lack of respect for the older person … he’s just not allowed to do that, bottom line. This was [the] end of the game, and he just hurt his team pretty much doing that but it’s okay. It’s not our problem.”

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On Monday, Jokic gave Gortat plenty of ammunition for criticism. Although Gortat scored efficiently for 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, he played under 29 minutes due to foul trouble. With 1:29 to play, Jokic drew Gortat into his sixth and final foul. When asked about the foul trouble, Gortat mockingly handed out an acting award.

“The Oscar goes to Mr. Jokic,” Gortat deadpanned. “Great game, he busted my ass. I got the win. Bottom line.”