OKLAHOMA CITY — Neither the Nuggets nor the Thunder planned on changing their approach after what happened the last time.

A fight nearly broke out after Lu Dort collided with Nikola Jokic, sending Denver’s star to the hardwood in the second half of a Feb. 27 game at Paycom Center. Jokic confronted Dort once he got back on his feet, and it took multiple bodies to separate Denver’s star and Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams afterward.

Dort later acknowledged he crossed the line. Prior to Monday’s tipoff between the Nuggets and Thunder at Paycom Center, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault admitted a misstep of his own.

Back then, after the game, Oklahoma City’s coach said he expected a Flagrant 2 foul, Dort’s punishment for the play, to be called the rest of the season regardless of the caliber of player being tripped.

“I don’t think my comments, if I’m being honest, helped after the game,” Daigneault said Monday during his pregame press conference. “I thought the timing of them was insensitive. I was in the mode of protecting my team moving forward. It was just ill-timed.”

After Daigneault was done, most of the media crossed the hall to get Nuggets coach David Adelman’s thoughts.

“We didn’t talk about it. I think our guys understand what this is,” Adelman said. “Both teams are extremely competitive. We play each other all the time.”

Both coaches acknowledged the frequency with which they play contributed to the bad blood. As division rivals, they play four times each season. The geographic proximity makes for a sensible preseason opponent, and last season’s second-round series added seven games to the tally.

“When you play a team in the playoffs, it geeks things up,” Adelman said. “The (Timberwolves) are like that when we played them a couple of years ago. I thought the first Clippers game this year felt like a big-time playoff game because of their emotions.”

What that meant for Monday was to be determined. Daigneault noted many of the matchups against Denver in recent years have been officiated and played in different fashions.

“I never go into a game anticipating anything,” Daigneault said.

Adelman didn’t think his team could afford to approach the third of four meetings against the Thunder any differently if they wanted to prevent dropping to 0-3 this season against the defending champions.

“You got to play emotional. You got to keep things in check and not cross a line. The way we played last time is the way we got to play this time,” Adelman said. “If that takes it to a level that (the officials) feel like they need to tighten up with the whistle, I’ll let Marc (Davis) and his crew figure that out. I think we have to play the same way if we want to get a win.”