The NBA has fined Jamal Murray $100,000 for throwing multiple items in the direction of an official during a playoff game between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, the league announced Tuesday.
Murray avoided a suspension after the league reviewed the incident, sources told The Denver Post. He will be eligible to play Friday in Game 3 of the second-round series, which the Nuggets trail 2-0.
Murray was seated at the end of the home bench during the second quarter of Game 2 when he threw what appeared to be a heat pack in the direction of lead official Marc Davis. The item flew past Davis, who was on the baseline, and landed near the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during live play. Murray had been frustrated with the officiating throughout the first half of what turned out to be a 106-80 loss.
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.
However, the NBA’s news release specified that Murray’s punishment was a result of throwing the heat pack in the direction of the official. The release also specified “multiple objects,” referring to a towel that Murray also threw toward Davis earlier in the same possession. Davis didn’t appear to notice the towel, which was collected by an individual on the baseline as play continued.
The NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena after the heat pack was discarded during a dead ball. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous.”
“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 (foul) 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 after Game 2 that he was unaware Murray had thrown the heat pack, but he conceded that the Nuggets “lost control of our emotions” in their lowest-scoring game of the season.
Murray scored eight points in the loss, shooting 3 for 18 with just two assists and four turnovers. He has been dealing with a left calf injury since the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, though he made game-winning shots twice in that series.
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