Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100,000 but will avoid suspension following an incident during Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Murray threw a towel and a heating pad in the direction of an official during Denver’s 106-80 loss on Monday.
The incident occurred late in the first half when the Timberwolves had already built a significant lead. Murray, frustrated with the game’s direction, tossed a heat pack onto the court mid-play while he was on the bench. Despite Murray’s actions, he did not receive a technical foul during the game as the officials did not notice the infraction at the time.
The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2024
Murray had been engaging with officials throughout the half, and his frustration boiled over during this particular instance when Karl-Anthony Towns regained possession after a block by Michael Porter Jr. Towns subsequently scored, but fortunately, no one was injured by the heat pack. Play was temporarily stopped and the item was removed from the court, but Murray was not immediately assessed a technical foul because the referee failed to notice.
After the game, both Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch commented on the incident. Malone stated he was not aware of the situation, while Finch deemed it “inexcusable” upon learning about it.
“I didn’t actually see it happen but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “They are not 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. But yeah, it’s inexcusable and dangerous.
Crew chief Marc Davis said he didn’t notice the toss at the time, but if he had it could’ve been reviewed under the hostile act trigger. However, Murray would’ve been subject to a technical foul, not an ejection.
“For an ejection, you would have to determine it was thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration,” Davis told a pool reporter after the game.
On the court, Murray has struggled against the Timberwolves’ strong defense. In Game 1, he was scoreless in the first half, and in Game 2, he managed just two points on 1-of-10 shooting in the first half. Despite finishing Game 2 with eight points on 3-of-18 shooting, Murray contributed with 13 rebounds and a pair of assists and steals.
