Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $US100,000 by the NBA but avoided a suspension for "throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play".
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Murray tossed a towel and a heat pack on to the court late in the second quarter of Denver's 108-80 loss to Minnesota that gave the Timberwolves a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semi-final series.
The Nuggets were frustrated by the officiating as they fell behind by 28 points shortly before halftime.
The heat pack toss garnered the most attention, as TNT replays showed Murray sitting at the end of Denver's bench and throwing it on to the court. It slid across the floor as players jockeyed in the lane just before Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns made a lay-up with 4:41 left in the second quarter.
Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope retrieved the heat pack and tossed it aside as the public-address announcer admonished the crowd not to throw any objects on to the court.
Officiating crew chief Marc Davis said after the game the officials were unaware the object had come from the bench.
"(Otherwise) we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul,'' Davis said.
Wolves coach Chris Finch said he was aware of what had happened.
"We tried to impress upon (the officials) that there's probably not many fans in the building that have a heat pack, so it probably had to come from the bench," he said, adding that Murray's actions were "inexcusable and dangerous".
Murray left the arena without speaking to reporters, and Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he wasn't aware his point guard had been the culprit.
Several seconds before he threw the heat pack on to the court, Murray was observed tossing a towel in the direction of Davis. The towel landed at the official's heels and somebody sitting on the sideline got up and quickly removed it. Davis never noticed.
In other news, Mitchell Robinson has a stress injury to his left ankle, becoming the third key player the New York Knicks have lost for their playoff run.
The Knicks said Robinson would be evaluated again in six to eight weeks, essentially ruling him out no matter how far they go in the NBA post-season.
New York host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday (Australian time), with the home side leading their playoff series 1-0.
Australian Associated Press
