Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray accepted “full responsibility” for the incident in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals that earned him a $100,000 fine from the NBA.
During the Nuggets’ 106-80 loss to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Murray threw a towel and then a heat pack onto the floor, seemingly in the direction of a referee. The next day, the NBA announced the punishment, forgoing a suspension that could have taken Murray out of Game 3 on Friday in Minneapolis with the Nuggets trailing the best-of-seven series 2-0.
“I mean, it is what it is and I take everything in full responsibility, so on to the next,” Murray said when asked about the league’s response. “Yeah, on to the next. I mean, two days ago, not much for me to say about it right now.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of the incident, “I’ve never seen that from Jamal. That was very uncharacteristic, for me.
“(It was) a combination of taking a charge and it’s not called, a combination of not making shots at the level we know he’s capable of making, a combination of us being down 30 points to a team that we’re trying to beat to get to the Western Conference finals. When you put that all in that boiling pot, man, that’s a lot to handle. He didn’t handle it the way he knows he needs to handle it. …
“Jamal will bounce back. I have no doubt about that.”
Murray sank two last-minute, game-winning shots in the Nuggets’ five-game series win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. He averaged 23.6 points, 7.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds in that series.
The 27-year-old Kentucky product has struggled in the Timberwolves series, though, averaging 12.5 points, three assists and seven rebounds. In Game 2, Murray made just 3 of 18 shots from the floor and finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and four turnovers.