Nuggets’ Jamal Murray fined $100,000, not suspended for tossing objects during Game 2

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was fined $100,000 but will not be suspended, the NBA announced Tuesday, after video caught Murray tossing a towel and heat pack toward the court during a game in progress.

The incident occurred midway through the second quarter of Minnesota’s Game 2 win in Denver. Following the Nuggets’ 106-80 loss, crew chief Mark Davis said officials were unaware of the heat pack on the court until after Karl-Anthony Towns scored. Had officials been aware of where it came from, Davis said, they could’ve reviewed the incident for a potential hostile act, for which the penalty would have been a technical foul. Wolves coach Chris Finch called the toss “inexcusable” and “dangerous.”

Murray did not speak with reporters after the game. He has struggled in the two matchups against the Timberwolves, averaging just 12.5 points and three assists on 28.1 percent shooting.

Jamal Murray throws a heat pack pic.twitter.com/JDADMojQgp

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 7, 2024

The heat-pack incident was just one example of the Nuggets losing their cool Monday.

Denver coach Michael Malone went ballistic on Davis late in the first quarter, screaming at the veteran official but somehow not being called for a technical foul. (Davis later told a pool reporter he didn’t hear Malone say anything unsportsmanlike.) Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon earned a technical of his own in the third quarter.

“They’re just draped all over Joker,” Gordon said when asked what prompted the complaint that led to his technical. “I think they’re just hacking him — they’re hacking him. Yeah, and just not being able to communicate with the officials is frustrating as well. When you have to ask them a question and they don’t even look at you, they don’t even acknowledge you, it’s very frustrating.”

(Photo: Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)