Jamal Murray, the leader of the Denver Nuggets, was fined $100,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for throwing a heat pack and a towel at a referee from the sidelines during of the match clearly lost at home by its reigning champion team, the day before, against the Minnesota Timberwolves (106-80), in game 2 of the second round of the play-offs (Minnesota leads two victories to zero).
These bad-tempered gestures had gone relatively unnoticed at the time, in the middle of the second quarter, even if the heating bag had ended up on the floor. The replays then proved that Murray, clearly annoyed, was the author of these two throws, made in the direction of the official closest to him.
No match suspension
The NBA consequently announced that the Nuggets player was receiving a heavy fine. However, it did not impose any suspension on Murray, who will therefore be able to be present during match 3 between the two franchises on Friday. After Monday’s game, Chris Finch, Minnesota coach, called Jamal Murray’s attitude “dangerous and inexcusable.”