Nuggets’ Jamal Murray fined $100,000 for throwing heat pack, towel onto court
Nuggets’ Jamal Murray fined $100,000 for throwing heat pack, towel onto court
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was fined $100,000 by the NBA on Tuesday after he threw a heat pack and a towel from the bench area onto the court during the second quarter of a 106-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series Monday.
Murray, 27, will be available during Game 3 on Friday at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves hold a 2-0 series lead over the Nuggets and could sweep the defending champions out of the playoffs with home wins Friday and in Sunday’s Game 4.
Midway through the second quarter of Game 2, Murray, who was seated near the end of the Nuggets’ bench, apparently became upset over a few no-calls and raised a heat pack above his head and threw it past Marc Davis, the baseline referee, toward the court during a Minnesota offensive possession. After Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns made a layup, Denver guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope retrieved the heat pack and threw it off the court.
The overt act of frustration went undetected by the referees but was subsequently the subject of a league office review.
During a postgame statement to a pool reporter, Davis confirmed the referees didn’t see the heat pack come from the Nuggets’ bench, adding Murray could have been assessed a technical foul.
“We tried to impress upon [the referees] that there probably aren’t many fans in the building that have a heat pack,” Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch said. “So it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical. It’s inexcusable and dangerous. I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight. I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officiating at all, but we certainly can’t allow that to happen.”
Murray, a scoring guard who was sensational during the Nuggets’ 2023 championship run, has struggled for much of this year’s title defense. Though he hit a pair of game-winning jumpers in a first-round series victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20.4 points and shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent on three-pointers through seven playoff games. Against Minnesota’s long and aggressive perimeter defenders, Murray is averaging 12.5 points and shooting 28.1 percent from the field through two games.