CHICAGO >> Reggie Jackson didn’t hear what Nikola Jokic said. So, as confusion spread across the court and across the crowd at United Center, he asked the referee.

What Mousa Dagher told Jackson, and what he repeated to the Denver Nuggets’ coaching staff moments later, only added to the collective bewilderment.

The Nuggets (16-9) escaped Chicago with a 114-106 win over the Bulls on Tuesday night, but in order to complete a perfect back-to-back, they once again were unexpectedly required to play the second half without their superstar center. Jokic was ejected for the second time in three weeks after aggressively challenging Dagher on a no-call.

“We won both the games, so maybe that’s the key,” Jokic deadpanned afterward. “Maybe that’s the way to go.”

The reigning NBA Finals MVP was thrown out with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter, the ejection coinciding with his first technical foul. Generally, a player’s first technical foul is considered a warning of sorts, with a second technical resulting in an automatic ejection. Hence the mass confusion caused by the abruptness of Jokic’s exit. According to a pool reporter interview with crew chief Mark Lindsay, Dagher removed Jokic from the game after only one technical because Jokic “directed profane language at the official that by our standards warranted an ejection.”

That’s an accurate reflection of how Dagher explained his decision to the Nuggets in the immediate aftermath. The instigating incident: Jokic turned to Dagher and said something as he was getting back on defense, still angry about the lack of foul call granted as he’d missed a reverse layup. Multiple league sources with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post that Jokic called Dagher a “mother-(expletive)” and demanded that Dagher “call the mother-(expletive) foul.”

“I didn’t really see the play. … I was like, OK. I’d seen he got a tech,” Jackson told The Post. “And then I see the gesture that he got thrown out. I was like, ‘Oh, snap, something crazy must have happened.’ So I do the same thing I always do. I’m not really gonna be too mad. I’m just gonna ask. So I try to ask what happened. And it was just very interesting that Jok got thrown out for saying, ‘Call the mother-(expletive) foul.’ I thought it had to be something way more derogatory than that. It had to be a personal attack or something. So yeah. That was just very interesting.

“That was a new one for me in my 13 years (in the NBA).”

Denver’s coaching staff huddled with the officials soon after. An incredulous Michael Malone was asked if he heard what Jokic said. Malone hadn’t. So the officials shared with him, too. After the game, Malone didn’t specify the words he was told Jokic used, but he joked that the phrase was a “term of endearment” in his household when he was growing up. Backup center DeAndre Jordan also attempted to provide levity by advising Jokic to curse out referees in Serbian in the future.

“It is what it is. Some guys can say whatever,” Jokic said. “I think sometimes what I said is not even a technical, so it is what it is.”

When asked about his frustration with the no-call preceding his outburst, Jokic didn’t want to get into it. “I like my money,” he said. He went on to acknowledge that “I crossed the line, I understand. But sometimes that word doesn’t cross the line.”

In the pool reporter interview, Lindsay responded to three consecutive questions seeking clarity by providing the same answer verbatim, a statement of fact about what occurred: “To be clear, Jokic was ejected after one technical foul.”

Malone’s main gripe with the ejection was exactly that: the lack of warning given. According to the NBA rulebook, technical fouls are to be assessed if a player addresses a referee disrespectfully, but “cursing or blaspheming an official shall not be considered the only cause for imposing a technical foul. Running tirades, continuous criticism or griping may be sufficient cause to assess a technical. Excessive misconduct shall result in ejection from the game.”

Did Jokic’s language meet the criteria of excessive misconduct? Jackson said he has heard the phrase used “all the time” throughout his career.

“I’ve seen far worse,” he said.

The whole disturbance resulted in an unusual scene at United Center, where it was unofficially Serbian Heritage Night. As spectators realized Jokic had been ejected, they seemed to boo the officials for the decision in a gesture that surprised even the Nuggets’ veteran players.

“That’s the first I’ve seen that,” Justin Holiday said. “… Usually they’re like, ‘Yay!’ Or booing the other player. But they were upset that he was getting kicked out.”

“Jokic is a guy that you pay money to go see,” Jackson told The Post. “When you’ve done it for 13 years, you understand the game. So of course you come to see the whole show, but there are special guys that you’re going (to the game) to see. Unfortunately we’re here only once (per season), being a West Conference team. I feel bad for a few of those fans.”

The Nuggets will return to the comfort of Ball Arena on Thursday to start a three-game home stand. Both of Jokic’s 2023-24 ejections have been on the road, but his frustration with officiating has been building throughout the season. In November, he told The Post he felt like some players can get away with saying more to the officials than others. Regardless of whether the Nuggets viewed the latest ejection as unreasonable, they recognize the importance of preventing this from becoming a season-long trend.

“Maybe I have to do a better job, to be honest,” Malone said. “Because if he’s getting fouled or he thinks he’s getting fouled, let me take the tech. That’s my job as a head coach, because I don’t want him being put in that position where he’s getting thrown out. Because it’s not good for him, and more importantly, it’s not good for the team. … We just have to work on how we engage and how he communicates with the referees, and handle that frustration. And I can definitely help in that regard.”