Why Nikola Jokic, Bruce Brown invaded Suns huddle during Game 5

Nikola Jokic is not one to hide his intentions on the basketball court.

So he made no secret about what he was doing snooping around an impromptu Suns huddle in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s Game 5.

“I mean, just to see what they’re drawing and see the play,” he said with only a hint of humor in his voice after the game. “I thought that could help us a lot. That’s what I was doing.”

Devin Booker was headed to the free-throw line, but there was no timeout issued on the floor, so Jokic and Bruce Brown got right into Phoenix’s business near Monty Williams along the sideline.

Kevin Durant shoves Nikola Jokic out of the Suns’ huddle 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/xeHcNGj3Un

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 10, 2023

Eventually, Kevin Durant pushed Jokic. The big man followed with his best Matt Ishbia impression and sold the charge effectively, drawing a technical foul.

The officials reviewed the incident and issued Brown a technical, too, which crew chief David Guthrie told a pool reporter after the game was for, “his unsportsmanlike actions towards the Phoenix bench.”

“It’s not a timeout, so I can be over there,” Brown countered after the game. “I don’t know why I got a tech. I have to figure that one out.”

Durant said after the game he thought the bit of spycraft was no big deal.

“Absolutely nothing. It wasn’t anything serious,” he said. “They were excited, they were upbeat. We were trying to draw up some stuff and you know how that goes.”