After being fined $100,000 for throwing a towel and heating pad at a referee in Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray rarely pushes the situation very hard.
“That’s just the way it is. I take it upon myself to do so,” Murray said when asked about the fine on Wednesday.
Murray threw the ball into the box with 4:41 left in the second quarter with the Nuggets trailing by 19 points. The play continued and the referees realized what he had done, as Nuggets goalie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope picked up the heating pad and threw it. Next to it. Denver then suffered a 106-80 loss at home and now faces a 2-0 deficit as the series heads to Minnesota.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch said after the game that Murray’s moves were “dangerous” and “unforgivable. “Team leader Marc Davis told a reporter in the pool that if he had seen what happened, Murray would have been the victim of a technical foul. However, he would only have been ejected if the investigation of the video had shown us that he had thrown the objects directly at someone and not at someone, simply out of frustration.
Murray’s feelings likely overflowed because of the way the Timberwolves stifled him in the first two games of the series. He was limited to just 8 points on 3-of-18 shooting in Game 2, and scored 17 points on 6-of-18. 14th on shooting in Denver’s 106-99 loss in Game 1.
The 27-year-old is suffering from a calf strain, which also contributed to his playoff woes. In seven playoff games, he shot 37. 5 percent from the field.
The Nuggets will want Murray back in shape if they hope to fall into a deeper hole when they return to action Friday for Game 3.