Jokic, Malone tossed in 1st half of Nuggets' win over Pistons

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and head coach Michael Malone were both ejected in the first half of Monday's game against the Detroit Pistons.

However, the rest of the Nuggets held their own without the key duo to beat Detroit 107-103 behind 21 and 20 points from former Pistons Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, respectively.

Malone was the first to be dismissed, picking up two technical fouls in quick succession late in the first quarter for complaining to one of the officials along the baseline.

Jokic was tossed at nearly the same mark of the second quarter, getting rung up for his second tech of the game after voicing his frustration at a non-call. The two-time MVP earned his first technical at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter.

The Serbian center scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds with five assists before he was tossed. It's his first ejection of the season.

"Nikola and I are like kindred spirits," Malone said postgame about watching the rest of the matchup with Jokic in the locker room, according to Denver Sports' Jake Shapiro. "When you're watching on TV, you see everything, it's hard to watch. When you make a good play, we're pumping our fists, we're excited, we're hugging. And when you don't make a good play, we're cursing in Serbian."

The win improves the Nuggets to 10-4 and snaps the team's first multi-game losing streak of the year at two. The Pistons, meanwhile, have now lost 12 straight.