To say Jamal Murray cut a frustrated figure in Game 2 of the Denver Nuggets’ series against the Minnesota Timberwolves would be an understatement. Murray seemed to have lost his head at one stage, as he committed some bizarre acts but somehow didn’t get a technical for any of them. The most notable of the acts was when the 27-year-old threw a heating pad onto the court.
Jamal Murray threw a heat pack onto the court 😳 https://t.co/Iho8YW8Q0H
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2024
It very much seemed directed at referee Marc Davis too, but the game just carried on after that, with no kind of punishment being handed out. As for why that was the case, the officials just didn’t see who threw it. Davis stated during the pool report interview that if the officials had realized Murray was responsible, he would have received a technical foul.
He wouldn’t have been ejected, though, as they didn’t think he was throwing it directly at someone. The reason some assumed Murray intended to throw it at Davis, was because he was upset with the officiating for long stretches of that game and even made the money sign at one point.
Jamal Murray is shooting 3-17
1-1 on heat pack tosses
1-1 on accusing the refs of cheating with the money hand gesture
— Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) May 7, 2024
It is interesting to note that Rudy Gobert had been issued a technical foul when he made the money gesture during the regular season, but Murray was not in this instance. Gobert had also doubled down on his stance during his postgame press conference and it led to him getting a $100,000 fine.
Murray here left without speaking to any of the reporters, which might have been the right thing to do, with how frustrated he was. The Canadian guard thought the Nuggets were on the receiving end of a lot of bad calls and it led to him clapping at the officials on numerous occasions.
Murray clapping at the refs after that foul call. Bro is cooked pic.twitter.com/aF3oHirUfM
— Thomas Sullivan (@Yfz84) May 7, 2024
If you thought all of that was bad enough, there was one more incident. A fan pointed out, that before Murray threw that heating pad, he had also thrown a towel at Davis.
Here is the full sequence where you can see Murray twice throw items onto the court from the bench pic.twitter.com/UQM3d1RSSa
— Ryan Eichten (@REichten) May 7, 2024
I am not sure if I’ve ever seen a player lose their cool in this fashion before, especially someone like Murray, who isn’t known to be that kind of a character. He ended up having a pretty horrific showing in the game too, finishing with 8 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block while going 3-18 from the field.
While Murray’s frustrations with the officials might have played a part, I think the biggest reason he struggled is that he is clearly not fully healthy. He suffered a left calf strain in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers and is still being bothered by it. With their star guard struggling, the Nuggets lost 106-80 and are now down 2-0.
Timberwolves Head Coach Calls Jamal Murray Throwing The Heating Pad ‘Inexcusable’ And ‘Dangerous’
After the game, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was asked about Murray throwing that heating pad on the court. Safe to say, he wasn’t all that happy about it.
“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either. So, they’re not able to issue a technical unless they see it,” Finch said. “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.
“It’s inexcusable and dangerous,” Finch continued. “And I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight. I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officiating at all, but certainly can’t allow that to happen.”
(starts at 7:18 mark):
I completely agree with Finch. It was inexcusable, but Murray has seemingly gotten away with it. As Davis stated earlier, they didn’t think the act merited an ejection, so he is not going to be suspended for Game 3, despite some suggesting he should be. Murray should consider himself to be a very lucky boy.
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