Jamal Murray takes “full responsibility” for incident in Game 2

Denver Nuggets Point guard Jamal Murray took “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 NuggetsDuring Monday’s 106-80 loss to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, Murray threw a towel and then a heat pack on the floor, seemingly toward a referee. The next day, the NBA announced the penalty and waived a suspension that could have removed Murray from Game 3 on Friday in Minneapolis Nuggets 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.

“I mean, it is what it is and I take full responsibility for everything, so on to the next thing,” Murray said when asked about the league’s response. “Yeah, move on to the next one. I mean, two days ago, I can’t say much about it right now.”

Nuggets Coach Michael Malone said of the incident: “I’ve never seen that from Jamal before. That was very out of character for me.”

“(It was) a combination of a tackle and a no-call, a combination of him not shooting at the level that he is capable of, that we know he can do, a combination of being behind from 30 points to a team we’re trying to beat. “To get to the Western Conference finals, that’s a lot to overcome. He didn’t handle it the way he needed to.

“Jamal will bounce back. I have no doubt about that.”

Murray sank two game-winning shots in the last minute Nuggets‘ Five-game 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 the series.

However, the 27-year-old from Kentucky struggled in the Timberwolves series, averaging 12.5 points, three assists and seven rebounds. In Game 2, Murray made just three of 18 shots from the floor and finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and four turnovers.

—Field-level media