Video: Paul George Elbows Jusuf Nurkic in the Face, Gets Headbutted by Portland Big Man

Jusuf Nurkic will not forget his meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder after he found himself on the receiving end of some very bruising treatment during Portland's 129-121 overtime loss.

Towards the end of regulation, the Trail Blazers center was elbowed on the chin by Thunder's forward Paul George.

The latter sidestepped past the Bosnian on his way to the basket but his flying elbow caught Nurkic squared in the face, momentarily taking him out of the action.

No foul was called on the play and the Thunder secured the rebound after George's miss, converting the resulting shot with just 13.1 seconds left to edge ahead 113-111. Nurkic and George then locked horns again on the following possession, when the former caught an offensive rebound after Damian Lillard missed a 12-foot jumper.

George appeared to utter a few words towards the Trail Blazers' big man, who reacted by placing his forehead on George's. While Nurkic didn't follow through in his movement, the referee deemed the contact worthy of sanction and both players were called for a technical foul and Nurkic, who had already one technical to his name, was ejected.

Referee Ed Malloy told ESPN after the game that officials had deemed the physical contact between the two players "an unsportsmanlike act."

The flashpoint with George was not the first time Nurkic had been at the center of the action off the ball during the game. With just over three minutes left in the third quarter, the Bosnian was sent flying by Russell Westbrook as the Trail Blazers broke forward at pace.

As Nurkic crossed into the Thunder's half of the court, he was bodychecked by Oklahoma's guard Russell Westbrook with such force that he went flying. Westbrook was penalized with a flagrant foul, but Nurkic was called for a technical foul for tripping the 2017 MVP a few moments earlier.

"I may have tripped him, but I didn't do it on purpose," Nurkic was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Lillard added: "Every time we've played them over the years, it's pretty much been a war—physical, close games, chippy. This one was no different."

After Nurkic was ejected, the Trail Blazers drew level with 2.9 seconds left in regulation, when Al-Farouq Aminu converted two free throws to force the game into overtime.

Nurkic finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds, while Lillard erupted for 51 points on 15-of-28 from the field in 47 minutes. It was not enough for Portland to avoid a second consecutive defeat and slip to 39-26 for the season, 0.5 games behind the fourth-placed Houston Rockets in the Western Conference standings.

The Thunder, meanwhile, improved to 40-25 and remain third in the standings, 0.5 games ahead of Houston.

George finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, while Westbrook had 37 points and seven rebounds.