Nuggets’ Jamal Murray fined $100,000 and avoids suspension for toss

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was fined $100,000 but avoided a suspension after he threw a towel and then a heating pad toward an official during Denver’s 106-80 Game 2 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday had.

The NBA announced the penalty Tuesday in a statement from Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations.

Murray threw the items on the floor during live play with 4:41 left in the second quarter and the Timberwolves leading 49-30. Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope picked up the ball, threw it toward the sideline, and the game continued without the referees blowing a whistle.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch called Murray’s actions “dangerous” and “inexcusable” after the game and said the Wolves tried to talk to the officiating team to resolve the incident.

Crew chief Marc Davis said he did not notice the throw at the time, but if he had, he could have checked it under the trigger of the hostile act. However, Murray would have been assessed a technical foul and not a dismissal.

“For an ejection, you would have to decide whether the ball was thrown directly at someone and not whether it was thrown out of frustration,” Davis told a pool reporter after the game.

Murray, who finished Game 2 with 8 points on 3-for-18 shooting, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers, left the arena without speaking to reporters, according to a Nuggets spokesman. He has struggled to find his form this postseason as he continues to battle a calf strain, shooting just 37.5% in seven playoff games.

The series returns to Minnesota on Friday, where the Timberwolves lead 2-0 over the defending champions.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this story.