Jamal Murray would have received a technical foul but not an ejection if officials had known Murray was responsible for a thrown item on the court during the Nuggets’ loss to the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Monday night.
Lead official Marc Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.
“For an ejection, you would have to determine it was thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration,” Davis said.
The league was reviewing the incident as of Tuesday morning, The Denver Post learned.
Davis was the nearest referee on the baseline when an item flew past him and landed around the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during the second quarter. Television cameras revealed that the item appeared to be a heat pack, and that Murray appeared to be the person who threw it.
At the next dead ball, the NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena, instructing fans not to throw items on the court. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous” after Minnesota’s 106-80 win.
“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical unless they see it. We tried to impress upon them that there probably aren’t many fans in the building that have a heat pack so it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he knew there was a heat pack on the floor, but he was unaware how it got there. Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said he didn’t realize someone had thrown it. Murray departed the home locker room without speaking to reporters after the game.
“I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight (by the refs),” Finch said, “and I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officials at all. But certainly we can’t allow that to happen.”
