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Jokic caught Payne across the face as the
Serbian attempted to steal the ball with 3:52 remaining in the
third quarter.
Suns guard Devin Booker confronted Jokic after the foul and the
teams briefly scuffled before being separated.
Jokic was ejected following a review. He finished with 22 points
and 11 rebounds as Denver lost Game Four 118-125 and were swept
4-0 in the best-of-seven series.
"I thought honestly they would not eject me," Jokic said.
"I wanted to change the rhythm of the game, I wanted to give us
some energy, maybe change the whistle a little bit, so I wanted
to make a hard foul.
"Did I hit him, did I not hit him? We don't know. So I say sorry
if I did because I did not want to injure him or hit him in the
head on purpose."
Booker, who was given a technical foul for the confrontation,
said Jokic's foul was an "emotional play".
"I don't think he meant harm by it," Booker said. "Just a
frustration foul. It's tough, just defending my team mate, that
was it.
"I know he's not a malicious player," he said of Jokic.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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