Nikola Jokic was ejected in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets' Game 4 elimination to the Phoenix Suns when referees assessed a flagrant foul 2 when aggressively going for a strip steal against Cameron Payne.

After Jokic didn't get a call on his hone-handed runner, Jokic ran over to take a hard swipe at the ball held by Payne and hit him across the face.

Referee David Guthrie could be heard on the broadcast explaining the decision, saying, "After replay review, there is windup, impact and follow-through."

After he was ejected, Jokic appeared to apologize to Payne.