Awkward... What was Shaq trying to say? We've never heard such an attempt at humor and Serbian; the legendary American embarrassed himself! /VIDEO/

For basketball fans who found themselves awake in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Minnesota Timberwolves delivered a third consecutive blow to the Denver Nuggets. The game culminated in a heated exchange between Nikola Jokic and Jaden McDaniels, a skirmish that threatened to escalate into a full-blown brawl on the court.

While you can find all the details of that intense matchup on Sportal, we also covered a pre-game moment that likely only Shaquille O'Neal found amusing.

It's clear the legendary center is rooting for Nikola Jokic in this series, rather than Rudy Gobert, who isn't exactly his favorite. Despite Gobert's strong defensive performances against Jokic in the first four games, Shaq remains unwilling to concede that the Frenchman, one of the league's premier defenders, is doing an excellent job.

Before the game, Shaq attempted to send a message of support to the Sombor native in Serbian. However, what he uttered was neither humorous nor, frankly, Serbian.

We couldn't recognize a single word. You can listen to Shaq's attempt at humor yourself and draw your own conclusions about what he was trying to say.

Denver currently trails 3-1 in the series. The next game, which is Minnesota's first opportunity to close out the series, is scheduled for Monday night into Tuesday morning, Serbian time.

Video: She's from Denver, loves Jokic, and follows his every move: Tatiana reveals all about Nikola's life in Colorado for Sportal!