The NBA has fined Jamal Murray $100,000 for throwing multiple items in the direction of an official during a playoff game between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, the league announced Tuesday.

Murray avoided a suspension after the league reviewed the incident, sources told The Denver Post. He will be eligible to play Friday in Game 3 of the second-round series, which the Nuggets trail 2-0.

Murray was seated at the end of the home bench during the second quarter of Game 2 when he threw what appeared to be a heat pack in the direction of lead official Marc Davis. The item flew past Davis, who was on the baseline, and landed near the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during live play. Murray had been frustrated with the officiating throughout the first half of what turned out to be a 106-80 loss.

Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.

“For an ejection, you would have to determine it was thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration,” Davis said.

However, the NBA’s news release specified that Murray’s punishment was a result of throwing the heat pack in the direction of the official. The release also specified “multiple objects,” referring to a towel that Murray also threw toward Davis earlier in the same possession. Davis didn’t appear to notice the towel, which was collected by an individual on the baseline as play continued.

The NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena after the heat pack was discarded during a dead ball. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous.”

“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical (foul) unless they see it. 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.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Game 2 that he was unaware Murray had thrown the heat pack, but he conceded that the Nuggets “lost control of our emotions” in their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Murray scored eight points in the loss, shooting 3 for 18 with just two assists and four turnovers. He has been dealing with a left calf injury since the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, though he made game-winning shots twice in that series.

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In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene after the Minnesota Timberwolves blew away Denver to take a 2-0 series lead. Among the topics discussed:

• Jamal Murray threw in the towel and the heat pack. How does this affect the team, the struggling star and the Nuggets’ chances to dig out of a deep hole against a surging Minnesota team?
• What answer is there for Anthony Edwards? With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hobbled and struggling, Bennett contends Christian Braun might be the best bet.
• Nikola Jokic is on the verge of his third MVP but took just 13 shots in the Game 2 loss. Does he need to do more?
• The Minnesota defense ranked No. 1 this season and is proving its worth during an unbeaten playoff run — even with Rudy Gobert missing Game 2. Are there avenues the Nuggets can explore to overcome the suffocating attack?

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Producer: AAron Ontiveroz
Music: “The Last Dragons” by Schama Noel

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Tad Boyle is bringing a former teammate to Boulder.

And, much like a significant chunk of the football staff across campus, a prominent name with a pro pedigree is joining the Colorado men’s basketball program.

On Tuesday, Boyle and the Buffaloes announced the addition of Danny Manning as an assistant coach. Manning replaces Rick Ray, who spent four seasons at CU before taking an assistant role at Vanderbilt following a season that ended for the Buffs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m very excited to join coach Boyle’s staff,” Manning said in a release from CU. “This staff has been together for quite some time and has had quite a bit of success, so I want to come in and be a sponge; learn from them, the things they’ve been doing to be successful and just try and add little nuggets that I can along the way in terms of my experience as a player and a coach.

“I’d like to thank (athletic director) Rick George and the administration for giving me this opportunity. I’m looking forward to being part of the Buffalo culture and can’t wait to get to Boulder.”

A College Basketball Hall of Famer and the No. 1 overall selection in the 1988 NBA draft, Manning was a freshman at Kansas in the 1984-85 season when Boyle was a senior. After leading the Jayhawks to the national championship as a senior, Manning suffered a torn ACL as an NBA rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers. Yet Manning ultimately played 15 seasons in the league, averaging a career-high 22.8 points during the 1992-93 season.

In 883 career games, Manning scored 12,367 points before retiring after the 2002-03 season. Manning was a two-time all-star and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year honor for the 1997-98 season.

Manning returned to Kansas to begin his coaching career, serving in a number of staff roles under KU coach Bill Self before taking an assistant coach spot during the 2006-07 season. Manning was part of KU’s 2008 national title team and earned his first head coach job at Tulsa ahead of the 2012-13 season. Manning spent two seasons at Tulsa, leading the program to the 2014 NCAA Tournament before taking the head coach spot at Wake Forest.

Manning went 78-111 in six seasons at Wake Forest, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Manning also served as the interim head coach at Maryland for the final 24 games of the 2021-22 season after another KU-era friend of Boyle’s, Mark Turgeon, resigned early in the year. Manning joined Louisville as an assistant in the 2022-23 season.

Boyle and Manning worked together in the summer of 2017, when both were assistants for the USA Basketball U19 team under John Calipari.

“He’s going to help us on a lot of different levels,” Boyle said in CU’s release. “Danny brings the ability to connect with young people, being able to mentor them and let them know what they heed to do to get better but also what they need to do to achieve their ultimate goal, which is to be a professional basketball player, which a lot of our players aspire to be. His ability to recruit and connect with families is there as well.”

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The Nuggets got too heated and let it spill onto the court.

Their offense went to waste. Their coach went nose-to-nose with a referee. Their defense deteriorated.

And with one flick of Jamal Murray’s wrist, their championship pedigree disappeared.

Murray’s rash decision to throw a heat pack onto the floor during play was a brutally on-the-nose metaphor for the collective loss of composure that characterized Denver’s Game 2 embarrassment against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

“I thought we lost control of our emotions a little bit tonight,” coach Michael Malone said.

“We’ve gotta leave the officials alone, honestly,” Aaron Gordon said. “They’re not looking to help us. They’re looking to officiate the game.”

Even before Murray’s projectile landed near the feet of lead official Marc Davis, Malone was practically begging for an ejection and evidently not using the necessary language. (“Although Coach Malone was visibly upset about both his team and the officials,” Davis said in a pool report interview, adding insult to injury, “I did not hear him say anything unsportsmanlike that warranted a technical foul.”)

Even well after the Murray incident, Gordon was handed a technical foul because a whole season’s worth of pent-up frustration at Nikola Jokic no-calls finally caused him to snap.

“I think they’re just draped all over Joker. I think they’re just hacking him. They’re hacking,” Gordon said. “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, very frustrating. And I think they’re hacking Joker. I think he’s been getting fouled all year. I don’t think he shoots nearly enough free throws, of what he should shoot. So yeah, it was just frustrating. I don’t like seeing my big fella get hacked with no calls.”

That’s a conflict that dates back to November and December, when Jokic was ejected twice from games after arguing with referees. Gordon is especially protective of the two-time MVP, whom he calls a close friend, and the Nuggets have always been exasperated by how Jokic is officiated. But even Gordon knew in hindsight that now was not the time for theatrics.

“I’m kind of giving you guys contradictory statements about talking to the officials and them not even acknowledging me,” he admitted, “but at the same time, we’ve gotta just focus and play the game.”

Soon after Gordon’s technical, the Nuggets reached their nadir, a 32-point deficit on the home court where they’re supposed to be near-invincible. Last postseason, they were 10-1 in Denver. This year, they’re 3-2, and two of those wins required last-second shots from Murray.

Minnesota’s defense is not the Lakers’ defense. The Timberwolves stay glued to every action away from the ball. They close out on shots with a vengeance — they compiled 12 blocks Monday. They swipe at the ball and, yes, probably hack sometimes. But when it became clear in the first half that the officials were going to let ’em play, the Nuggets failed to make the commensurate adjustments to their own physicality at the defensive end. They let Anthony Edwards walk all over them.

Between halftime of Game 1 and halftime of Game 2, the Timberwolves — ranked 17th in the NBA in offensive rating this season — made 51 of 82 shots (62.2%).

“After that first quarter, there was basically one team on the floor,” Jokic said. “They were more aggressive. They were more physical.”

His hyperbole about one team disappearing entirely was also on-the-nose. Ninety minutes before the opening tip, Malone had implored Jokic to be more aggressive, regardless of Rudy Gobert’s attendance status. Turned out, there was no Gobert.

But Jokic attempted only 13 field goals in 39 minutes. Murray scored eight points on 3-for-18 shooting. They combined for 10 assists and eight turnovers. Both have been insufficient in ball-screen defense.

That’s where the current sense of despondency begins and ends. It’s not the Nuggets’ perceived defining flaw that’s costing them the series so far — though it certainly doesn’t help that Minnesota is twice as deep. It’s the complete lack of production from their star players, their championship assets.

“Jamal and Nikola — nine years, eight years — we’ve been through a lot,” Malone said. “Hopefully those guys can help in terms of leading the charge and rallying the troops.”

When asked how the Nuggets will respond in Game 3 on Friday, Jokic offered only a tepid response: “I don’t know, we will see.” And Murray was out of the locker room quickly after the final buzzer without speaking to reporters.

So Gordon did his best to imbue confidence in a bleak moment, emphasizing that one win in Minnesota can swing the momentum of the series. He’s a player who prides himself on his ability to take a bump and give it back. He even seemed to get in Karl-Anthony Towns’ head at one point during Game 1.

So Gordon knows as well as anyone that if Denver wants that one win, it’ll have to rediscover some mental and physical composure first.

“I feel like we’re getting pushed off our spots; they were grabbing and holding, and we were looking for the officials,” he said. “We weren’t doing anything about it.”

Jamal Murray would have received a technical foul but not an ejection if officials had known Murray was responsible for a thrown item on the court during the Nuggets’ loss to the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Monday night.

Lead official Marc Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.

“For an ejection, you would have to determine it was thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration,” Davis said.

The league was reviewing the incident as of Tuesday morning, The Denver Post learned.

In the pool report, crew chief Marc Davis says Jamal Murray would’ve received a technical foul but not an ejection if the officials had been aware of the source of the thrown item. pic.twitter.com/IyIgxVsb1O

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) May 7, 2024

Davis was the nearest referee on the baseline when an item flew past him and landed around the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during the second quarter. Television cameras revealed that the item appeared to be a heat pack, and that Murray appeared to be the person who threw it.

At the next dead ball, the NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena, instructing fans not to throw items on the court. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous” after Minnesota’s 106-80 win.

The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2024

“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical unless they see it. 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.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he knew there was a heat pack on the floor, but he was unaware how it got there. Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said he didn’t realize someone had thrown it. Murray departed the home locker room without speaking to reporters after the game.

“I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight (by the refs),” Finch said, “and I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officials at all. But certainly we can’t allow that to happen.”

Jamal Murray would have received a technical foul but not an ejection if officials had known Murray was responsible for a thrown item on the court during the Nuggets’ loss to the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Monday night.

Crew chief Marc Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.

“For an ejection, you would have to determine it was thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration,” Davis said.

In the pool report, crew chief Marc Davis says Jamal Murray would’ve received a technical foul but not an ejection if the officials had been aware of the source of the thrown item. pic.twitter.com/IyIgxVsb1O

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) May 7, 2024

Davis was the nearest referee on the baseline when an item flew past him and landed around the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during the second quarter. Television cameras revealed that the item appeared to be a heat pack, and that Murray appeared to be the person who threw it.

At the next dead ball, the NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena, instructing fans not to throw items on the court. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous” after Minnesota’s 106-80 win.

The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2024

“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical unless they see it. 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.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he knew there was a heat pack on the floor, but he was unaware how it got there. Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said he didn’t realize someone had thrown it. Murray departed the home locker room without speaking to reporters after the game.

“I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight (by the refs),” Finch said, “and I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officials at all. But certainly we can’t allow that to happen.”

Oh Baby! The Timberwolves were better without Rudy.

Let’s hit skip on the diss tracks and talk of a Nuggets dynasty.

Those drunken words at the downtown parade seem like a long time ago. In what amounted to a must-win game, the Nuggets delivered a performance that belonged in a diaper, losing 106-80.

“They kicked our (butts),” coach Michael Malone said. “We got embarrassed in our building.”

Everything suggested the Nuggets would rebound like Dennis Rodman. Monday demanded urgency, a path made easier by Rudy Gobert’s admirable decision to miss Game 2 to be with his partner for the birth of the couple’s first child.

Even before Jamal Murray threw a heat pack in the direction of an official that landed on the court and should result in a fine or suspension, the series had reached a watershed moment. The Nuggets, starting slowly per usual, trailed 22-17 in the first quarter.

In the previous two possessions, Karl-Anthony Towns ran through Murray like midnight Taco Bell and Anthony Edwards bullied his way to a hanging layup over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The only one happy with the officiating was Alex Rodriguez, future owner of the Timberwolves if he wins his arbitration case. A-Fraud — sorry, A-Rod — stood and cheered from his courtside seat. And we all know how much he hates cheating or players gaining an unfair advantage.

At the TV timeout, Malone reached his flashpoint, storming onto the court to confront the official. It was the verbal equivalent of throwing chairs and kicking doors. The crowd reacted. Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson and DeAndre Jordan held him back. Amazingly, Malone did not receive a technical. The match, though, was lit. And like everything else Monday, the winds of change blew it out.

That moment occurred with 3:21 left in the first quarter. The Nuggets were outscored 39-18 over the remainder of the half. Without Gobert, the Nuggets offense was expected to percolate. It inexplicably became worse. Denver made 14 of 43 shots in the first half. The Timberwolves converted on 24 of 44.

The Nuggets remained out of sync. Jokic continued to pass too much. Murray, bothered by a left calf injury, lacked explosiveness. The superstar duo combined to miss 18 of 31 shots. Murray had two points at halftime. And that was an improvement over his bagel in the first half of Game 1.

Murray exited without talking to the media, which is not uncommon for him, but is a horrible look after his behavior on the bench. Malone was aware the heat pad landed on the court, but he did not see who threw it. Minnesota coach Chris Finch called Murray’s actions, “inexcusable and dangerous.”

In winning their first title, the Nuggets stared down history and refused to flinch. They embraced pressure like a long lost friend. The crown, 11 months later, appears too heavy for the kings. They are unraveling. They now face odds of winning usually associated with the Rockies. Teams that lose the first two games at home are 5-36 all-time in a seven-game series. For the non math majors, that is 12%.

Like everything else in this series, these numbers do not add up. The Timberwolves placing the banana peel under the Nuggets is not entirely a surprise. Minnesota has opened the playoffs with six straight wins. They thrashed the Suns and Kevin Durant, then spent the last few days spraying graffiti on Ball Arena.

Winless in the series is one thing. It is how the Nuggets are losing that is so disturbing.

They have not matched Minnesota’s intensity or physicality. There were calls that were mind-numbingly bad. No question. But you don’t trail by 32 points in the third quarter because of the refs. The Nuggets look like a team that wants to repeat, but they have a boxer’s heavy arms and tired legs. The fatigue of going back-to-back has manifested in injuries, lack of execution and frustration unbecoming of a champion.

“I thought we lost control of our emotions,” Malone said, before adding, “We have to have (guts). Have the courage to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I did not do my job.'”

Murray firing the heat pad was a metaphor for a night of clanked shots and sore throats from pleading for calls.

With 5:54 remaining, many began trudging toward the exit as Minnesota fans chanted “M-V-P!” for Edwards as he stood at the free throw line. One man walked by section 144 and screamed to no one in particular, “I can’t believe I paid for this.”

There is no crying in baseball. But basketball? Oh, baby! The Nuggets need a warm bottle of milk, a nap and a few hours in timeout because they are in big trouble.

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The Denver Nuggets lost 106-80 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of their second-round NBA playoff series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday night, May 6, 2024. Minnesota leads the series 2-0.

In the quiet and calm of an off day at Ball Arena, the Nuggets were at ease with the discomfort of their situation Sunday after losing a close series opener to the Timberwolves. But coach Michael Malone had an honest assessment of his team in response to a reporter’s question after Denver’s film session.

How was Malone feeling about his squad’s level of hunger and desire to repeat as NBA champions?

“At some point, man, you’ve gotta stop doing the same thing. We’ve gotta do a better job, and our starters in particular have to do a better job of being ready to play and setting the tone early,” Malone said, gaining momentum as he talked.

“What are we waiting for? Now we’re down 0-1. What are you waiting for? Like, we all know that going back to Minnesota down 0-2 is not the ideal situation. So I think tomorrow night to start the game, you’ll have your answer. If we come out the same way, lackadaisical, not physical, not urgent — well then there’s an issue there. A deeper-lying issue than stopping Anthony Edwards. Where is our mental at? And I fully expect our guys to be ready to go tomorrow. I’d be shocked if they weren’t.”

The Denver Nuggets officially have a deeper-lying issue to sort out after an exhausting, aggravating, demoralizing 106-80 loss to the Timberwolves in Game 2 of their second-round series Monday night.

The Nuggets will fly to Minneapolis staring up and out of a 2-0 series hole. They must win four of the next five games, three of which are on the road, to keep their season alive.

For now, Edwards and his ruthless pack of Wolves are pouring cold water on Denver’s dreams of a repeat championship. The 22-year-old scored another 27 points in the shocking blowout at altitude. Karl-Anthony Towns added a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds. The Timberwolves, who have not lost a game in the 2024 playoffs, shot 51% from the field after a 71% clip in the second half of Game 1. They led by as many as 32 points.

They didn’t even have the Defensive Player of the Year favorite to assist their efforts. Rudy Gobert was not at Game 2 due to personal reasons, prevented from flying back to Denver partially by strong winds in Colorado. Unlike the Nuggets, Minnesota took the adversity in stride.

Backup center Naz Reid built on his clutch fourth quarter with another 14 points and four blocks. Kyle Anderson impacted the game with a physicality and play-making ability that Denver lacked. He had nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals while filling Gobert’s starting spot. All three Minnesota bigs hassled Nikola Jokic and made him as irrelevant as he has been in the last four years. The two-time MVP finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds and four turnovers.

He attempted just 13 shots after Malone implored him to be more aggressive.

The Nuggets were swallowed whole by the Wolves’ intensity. All that Malone feared and warned against came to pass. Players, as well as Malone, griped with the lack of fouls called early in the game, without rising to match the requisite physicality and take advantage of the missing whistle.

The starters lingered longer without getting down big, but it was still 28-20 Minnesota after the first quarter. A second unit featuring both Reggie Jackson and a hobbled Jamal Murray quickly unraveled. The Wolves went on an 11-0 run over three minutes to start the second quarter and never looked back.

As home-court advantage slipped away, frustration on Denver’s bench culminated in Murray being caught by television cameras seeming to throw a heat pack on the floor, near the spot where official Marc Davis was standing on the baseline. Neither Murray nor the bench faced consequences during the game.

Murray shot 3 of 18 for eight points to go with two assists and four turnovers, one day after insisting his left calf injury is no excuse for poor performances. Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 20 points. Jackson limped to the locker room with a leg injury during the fourth quarter after a 17-4 Denver run.

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