Thrice-crowned Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic sustains a 'gut-wrenching' knee injury.

Thrice-crowned National Basketball Association MVP Nikola Jokic sustained a "gut-wrenching" knee injury while the Nuggets lost 147-123 to the Miami Heat.

The Serbian center was hurt towards the end of the second quarter in an inadvertent coming together with fellow Nugget Jones.

His teammate came down on the foot of the MVP, who promptly went down to the floor holding his knee.

The veteran player, who leads the NBA season in boards and dimes, posted 21 points and eight dimes in the contest prior to sustaining the injury.

He is scheduled for an MRI on the following day to evaluate the severity of the injury.

"Right away, Jokic realized he was hurt," stated Denver coach David Adelman.

"This is part of the NBA. Any player that suffers an injury, that's tough to see, particularly a player as talented as him. More information will come on Tuesday."

"We'll move on together. Of course, at this moment, I am more worried primarily about Jokic personally and the letdown of experiencing a situation of that nature."