Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch ripped Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray for throwing a heating pad onto the floor in the second quarter of Tuesday's Game 2 between the teams.

Murray was not called for a technical foul, as officials did not notice the pad on the floor. Finch called Murray's actions "dangerous" and "inexcusable."

"We tried to impress upon [the referees] 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," Finch told reporters. "I'm sure it was a mistake and an oversight and nothing intentional by the officiating at all, but certainly can't allow that to happen."

Game 2 was a largely miserable experience for Murray, who finished with just eight points on 3-of-18 shooting. He's knocked down just 28.1 percent of his shots as the Nuggets shockingly fell to an 0-2 hole against the upstart Timberwolves. Monday's loss was made even more surprising by the fact Minnesota was without center Rudy Gobert, who missed the game to witness the birth of his first child.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokić said Murray should not have lost his emotions on the floor (2:10 mark):

Referee Marc Davis said Murray should have been assessed a technical foul, but he would not have been ejected from the game. Murray will almost certainly punishment by the NBA in the coming days, likely in the form of a fine.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters he was unaware Murray threw the pad onto the floor.

"I am not even aware of that," Malone said. "I really can't comment. But if that's the case, we will have to see what happens. I wasn't aware of that. I knew a heating pack was on the floor, but it was not in my field of vision."

The Nuggets have three days off to compose themselves before playing Game 3 in Minnesota on Friday.

The reigning champions are on the ropes.

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 victory in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series on Monday at Ball Arena. Minnesota won each of the first two contests on the road and now has a 2-0 lead with the chance to win the series in the next two games at home.

And it won Game 2 without its defensive anchor since Rudy Gobert was out for personal reasons with the birth of his first child.

Anthony Edwards (27 points and seven assists on 11-of-17 shooting from the field) and Karl-Anthony Towns (27 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting from the field) helped make up for his absence, while the Minnesota defense set the tone from the start.

Nikola Jokić had 16 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, but Jamal Murray went 3-of-18 from the field while the Nuggets as a whole drew criticism for their performance:

It's unbelievable how much better the Timberwolves look than the Nuggets right now. This is CRAZY

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 7, 2024

The Timberwolves don’t think the Nuggets belong on the same floor with them. And I can’t think of the last time a team stepped to a defending champ like this in their building.

— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) May 7, 2024

They should be embarrassed. It’s really that simple. They have come completely apart.

— Swipa (@SwipaCam) May 7, 2024

We have never seen the Nuggets unravel like this. Completely shook. This Timberwolves defense has squashed them.

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) May 7, 2024

Live shot from Denver pic.twitter.com/eYA9ZB3jKc

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) May 7, 2024

Live look at Nikola Jokic playing defense this postseason...pic.twitter.com/s7yZm2EwLY

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) May 7, 2024

Murray & Jokic when it’s not D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura on defense pic.twitter.com/sZGCjR3Yol

— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 7, 2024

been more than two years since they looked this mortal.

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 7, 2024

Naz Reid should tell Jokic the next five years are his

— Lifelong Knicks Fan Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) May 7, 2024

didn't think it was possible for a star player to annoy me more than hali did tonight with their performance but kudos to murray for pulling it off lol

— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) May 7, 2024

This game needed "hair on fire" Jokic who sensed the team didn't have it and he needed to come out chucking and open everything up

— Daman Rangoola (@damanr) May 7, 2024

Nuggets body language right now reminding me of the 2007 Heat team that the Bulls swept in the first round. Defending champions realizing that winning another one is going to be even more effort than the first one and just being happy with the one.

— Jeff Mangurten (@JeffGurt) May 7, 2024

The Nuggets falling apart mentally is not something I had on my bingo card.

— Jonathan Von Tobel (@meJVT) May 7, 2024

pic.twitter.com/E6YdUNSuaX

— Dan Favale (@danfavale) May 7, 2024

Murray's been awful, terrible, no good. He's also given what he has, he's just not good on the calf and in the matchup. He should adapt more, for sure, but the effort is there. (Heat pack was embarrassing.)

Not the same for all Nuggets.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 7, 2024

Regardless of what happens the rest of this game, if Denver goes to the press and complains about the physicality, this thing is over.

It’s not changing. They need to embrace it and meet that level. https://t.co/8Ja5ofwNTS

— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) May 7, 2024

It feels the product of hubris. They were not hungry the whole year. Got reliant on clutch performances. https://t.co/xVX0n7psAb

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 7, 2024

All the pressure was on Denver since the Timberwolves already stole home-court advantage with their Game 1 win. That the visitors were playing without Gobert only made it feel like more of a must-win for a Nuggets team facing a playoff series deficit for the first time since 2022.

And Denver cracked under that pressure.

Minnesota stunned the crowd by jumping out to a commanding 26-point halftime lead with Towns and Edwards expectedly leading the way. It was far from just the stars, though, as the Timberwolves' team defense stifled everyone but Aaron Gordon in the first half and turned Jokić into a turnover machine at times.

Frustration was the prevalent theme for Denver, so much so that Murray even threw a heat pack onto the court from the bench as the game was ongoing:

Jamal Murray threw a heat pack onto the court 😳 pic.twitter.com/Iho8YW8Q0H

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2024

Jamal Murray is now the second most famous Canadian in the last 24 hours to publicly throw in the towel after underperforming in the face of intense pressure

— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) May 7, 2024

It's been a long time since the second half of a Nuggets playoff game was largely a formality because they were the ones trailing by so much. But that was the reality Monday, which is a testament to Minnesota's incredible performance and Jokić and Co. looking uncharacteristically terrible.

Even when the home team took some momentum into the fourth quarter by trimming the deficit from 32 to 22, the Timberwolves answered with critical three-pointers from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Towns and Edwards.

The latter even added more fuel to the Michael Jordan comparisons with a shrug celebration:

ANTHONY EDWARDS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/shHT8uY6oo

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 7, 2024

The result was an outcome that was never truly in doubt, and the Timberwolves will now look to pull further ahead of the Nuggets when the series shifts to Minnesota for Friday's Game 3.

Jamal Murray let out some frustration from the bench during the first half of the Denver Nuggets Game 2 matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After what he believed was a missed call from the officials, he threw a heat pack onto the court from the bench.

Jamal Murray threw a heat pack onto the court 😳 pic.twitter.com/Iho8YW8Q0H

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2024

It was a frustrating half for the Nuggets, who went into the break trailing 61-35. Murray was clearly upset, likely with the officiating along with his team's performance, and he let it out in the first half.

Murray wasn't the only member of the Nuggets who let his frustration get the best of him in the first half. Head coach Michael Malone exited the bench area and had plenty of words for the officials during the second quarter as his team had to hold him back to prevent him from getting a technical foul.

While the officiating in the first half is up for interpretation, it's obvious not much went the Nuggets' way through the first two quarters. Minnesota held Murray and star Nikola Jokić to a combined 10 points in the first half—the pair's lowest-scoring half all season. Murray had just two points while Jokić had eight.

Game 1 of the series was a much tighter contest as the Timberwolves took a 1-0 lead behind a 106-99 win. Minnesota seemed to have carried its momentum into Game 2 and now is in a good position to take a 2-0 lead as it heads back to its home court.

As for Murray's moment of frustration, it's not clear whether he will face any repercussions from the NBA, but it wouldn't be a surprise. For now, he'll need to put that moment behind him and try to will Denver past a tough Timberwolves team.

The reigning champions are trailing in a postseason series for the first time since 2022 all while Jamal Murray is dealing with a calf injury.

But the Denver Nuggets point guard isn't about to use his health as an excuse after his team dropped Game 1 of its second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.

"I'm not going to make no excuses, bro," Murray said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Everybody has got nagging injuries. Everybody is playing through something at this point of the season. My calf is no different than anybody else on the team or in the league, honestly. Obviously, it sucks, but it's not something that I enjoy talking about as part of the loss.

"It's going to be a part of [the playoff run], and I've accepted that and there's counters for everything. So I just got to keep adjusting, we got to keep adjusting and find ways to get it done. I don't know, man. The calf is whatever it is."

Murray played 34 minutes in Saturday's 106-99 loss and finished with 17 points and four assists on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. However, he went 0-for-5 in a scoreless first half and needed time to adjust.

He also dealt with the injury during the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers but played all five games. His status was a major storyline going into Game 5, but all he ended up doing was hitting the series-winning shot in the final seconds.

While Nikola Jokić may end up winning the third MVP of his career this season, Denver frequently turns to Murray in crunch time.

That has been the case in these playoffs over and over, so any lingering injury to Murray is a significant reason for concern. That is especially true since the Nuggets are playing a Timberwolves team that is simply better than the Lakers one they defeated eight times in nine tries in the last two playoffs.

Murray isn't using it as an excuse, but the Nuggets will need better play from their point guard if they are going to advance against Minnesota.

The Minnesota Timberwolves rotated three bigs to stifle Nikola Jokić Saturday night during the Denver Nuggets' 106-99 loss in Game 1 of the conference semifinals.

Jokić says the Nuggets may need two of him to counter the trio of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid in Game 2.

"To have a duplicate clone of myself, and then I could be fresh when they sub another guy, I'm gonna be fresh," Jokić said when asked how the Wolves could adjust after the loss, per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

He added: "It's a tough game, and they're a really good defensive team."

Jokić led the Nuggets with 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the loss.

The Los Angeles Lakers largely leaned on Anthony Davis to screen Jokić in the first round, but didn't have the center depth to effectively hinder the Nuggets star when Davis was on the bench.

The Wolves are benefitting from the ability to switch out two seven-foot bigs in Gobert and Towns.

The addition of Reid, who was able to take over when Towns ran into foul trouble late in the game, allowed Minnesota to force Jokić to rush his shots.

"I think that's why they're good. They can play big, they can play small... they're long physical, they rebound really well, they're aggressive," Jokić said. "I'm satisfied with the shots that I took, some of them I miss, some of them I made."

Jokić finished the game having gone 11-for-25 from the field and 2-for-9 from deep.

Gobert continued his campaign for a fourth Defensive Player of the Year award by leading the Timberwolves with three blocks.

The Wolves have raised eyebrows in the past by constructing a center-heavy roster. Three of the five biggest cap hits on the Timberwolves roster belong to centers, with Gobert and Towns alone combining for more than $77 million against the cap, per Spotrac.

That cost will be worth it if the trio can help lift Minnesota past the defending champs. The Timberwolves' bigs will look to hold Jokić back again Monday in Denver when Game 2 tips off at 10 p.m.

Michael Malone was not ready to blame the Denver Nuggets shoe mishap for his team's Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Is it ideal? No," Malone told reporters after the 119-108 loss. "But hopefully we can figure that out and make sure it never happens again.

"If you want to dig into stuff and say, well, we lost because for some strange reason our players didn't have their shoes when they got here for their normal warmups, that we had guys out there shooting around with flip-flops, is it ideal? No. But I'm not an excuse guy. And I'm not going to point to the reason we got our butts kicked in the paint because shoes weren't here. I think that's a reach, personally."

Several players were forced to warm up without their shoes because of an equipment mishap. The team was able to get the situation fixed well in advance of Saturday's game but still had players not in their normal routine.

The Nuggets have spent most of this first-round series playing a dangerous game, trailing by double digits early on before mounting comebacks. The Lakers have actually spent a significant portion of the series in the lead, which is not reflected in the 3-1 deficit they face heading into Game 5.

As far as the Nuggets go, they'll be back home for Game 5 and should be able to follow standard protocols to have their players in the right shoes. With players back in rhythm, the defending champs should be able to right the ship and close this series out sooner rather than later.

The Denver Nuggets are one win away from their second consecutive playoff series sweep over the Los Angeles Lakers after a 112-105 victory in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round matchup on Thursday night.

Nikola Jokić told reporters after the game that "winning is a lifestyle for us" and he doesn't want to go back to when the Nuggets were struggling early in his career.

Nikola Jokic: "Winning is a lifestyle for us."

"I was here when we were losing, so I don't want to go back to that." pic.twitter.com/0jbaLEw5Ke

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 26, 2024

Speaking about their success, Jokić credited the time that the Nuggets players have had together to build chemistry, which shows up on the court every night.

Nikola Jokic on building the Nuggets' read-and-react offense: He mentions his chemistry with Gary Harris, Jameer Nelson, Wilson Chandler and then Jamal Murray.

"First, you need to learn how to play."

"You need 2-3 years together to learn how to play with each other. pic.twitter.com/aREWPKdbKT

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 26, 2024

The Lakers have lost seven consecutive playoff games to the Nuggets and 11 straight against them overall dating back to February 2023.

This was the third straight game in the series that the Lakers led by at least 10 points, but they have been unable to maintain that momentum for all four quarters.

After blowing a 20-point lead in Game 2, the Lakers led by 10 at the end of the first quarter on Thursday. The Nuggets, as they have done all series, dominated in the second half. They have outscored Los Angeles 177-135 in the third and fourth quarters.

Jokić has been an unstoppable force for the reigning NBA champs. The two-time MVP finished one assist shy of his second straight triple-double but put up 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. He's averaging 27.7 points on 63.5 percent shooting, 15.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists in the series.

Jamal Murray hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 2, but he has otherwise been inefficient, shooting only 37.7 percent from the field. Aaron Gordon picked up a lot of the slack on Thursday with a team-high 29 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes.

The Lakers' duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing well. Davis posted his third straight 30-point double-double, while James has put up at least 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds in all three games.

Los Angeles' supporting cast has been a mess. Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura have combined to shoot 15-of-48 from three-point range. Spencer Dinwiddie and Gabe Vincent are averaging a combined 4.0 points per game.

Jokić and the Nuggets certainly appear comfortable with their winning lifestyle. They are one win away from advancing to the second round without breaking much of a sweat to get there.

Denver will look to close out the Lakers in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets are riding high after Monday's epic comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, but an off-the-court incident quickly brought the star center back to earth.

According to TMZ, the NBA is investigating an incident in which Jokić's older brother, Strahinja, appeared to punch a fan in the stands following the 101-99 win:

Nikola Jokic's older brother Strahinja threw a punch at a fan following the Nuggets' 20-point comeback win vs. the Lakers 👀

(via cgallegos67/TT)pic.twitter.com/gjYzt7c1kE

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2024

TMZ also reported that Denver police are reviewing the situation, though nobody has filed a police report.

Per TMZ, witnesses said the fracas began shortly after Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray made a buzzer-beating jump shot in the face of Lakers star center Anthony Davis to propel Denver to victory. The Nuggets trailed by as many as 20 points in the game but managed to storm back in front of their excited home fans at Ball Arena and take a 2-0 series lead.

In the video, Strahinja can be seen hopping over a seat to confront a male spectator. After he appeared to throw a punch, he continued shouting toward the fan while his brother, Nemanja, was behind him in support. Jokić's wife Natalija was reportedly just feet away from the two brothers during the incident, and she was holding their daughter while reaching out to try to get Strahinja to calm down, per TMZ.

While it's unclear what led to the altercation, the Jokić brothers are known for their passionate support of the two-time NBA MVP. They have not been shy about getting into it with fans, referees or even other players, like when they took a shot at the Morris twins when Marcus Morris defended Markieff Morris following an in-game altercation with Jokić.

The NBA has been known to take a hard stance on fan incidents, so it will be interesting to see how it handles the brothers of one of the best players in the league.

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray gave some insight Monday night into his game-winning, buzzer-beating shot in the Nuggets' 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Murray suggested that while he didn't see his shot go in, he knew that it did based on the reaction from the home crowd, saying: "I just lost my balance and fell. I think [Lakers All-Star forward Anthony Davis] AD was in my way or somebody was in my way, and I just heard everybody scream—and that's how I knew it went in."

With the game tied 99-99 in the waning seconds, Murray took the ball, stutter-stepped behind the three point line to freeze Davis, dribbled to the wing and nailed a fadeaway jumper with 0.1 seconds remaining to seal a 101-99 come-from-behind win:

MURRAY CALLED GAME.

WOW 😳 pic.twitter.com/MjrWbKqN3l

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 23, 2024

Murray shot just 9-for-24 for the game and was 0-for-5 from three-point range, but he noted that his teammates urged him to continue being aggressive:

"I told my teammates when I was struggling, 'I'm going to look for y'all,' and every single one of them told me to keep shooting.

"They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting, and when I had the ball with two seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple the next one should go down, as well."

The Lakers dominated most of Game 2, leading by 15 at halftime and 10 through three quarters, and by as many as 20 during the second half.

However, Murray came to life in the fourth quarter, going 6-of-8 from the field and scoring 14 of his 20 points, which proved to be the difference.

Not to be overshadowed, two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić was a force for the Nuggets as usual, finishing with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, as Denver took a 2-0 series lead.

The Lakers' stars also came to play, as LeBron James recorded 26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, while AD had a game-high 32 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

A Game 2 win would have been massive for the Lakers since they would have gone back to L.A. with the series knotted at 1-1 and momentum firmly on their side, but Murray and the Nuggets had other ideas.

Now, the Nuggets are 6-0 against the Lakers in the playoffs dating back to last season when Denver swept Los Angeles out of the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers still have a fighting chance with James and Davis leading the way, but coming back from a 2-0 deficit against a battle-tested, defending NBA champion won't be easy.

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Jamal Murray: Champion. Cold-blooded. Game 2 hero.

After struggling with his shot throughout Monday's Game 2 of the Denver Nuggets' first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the guard put his team on his back and scored six points in the final minute. The last two came on a fadeaway jumper as the buzzer sounded, giving Denver the 101-99 victory.

JAMAL MURRAY GAME-WINNER.

Nugs complete 20-pt comeback 😱🚨 pic.twitter.com/UnY7ezrTD8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2024

The reigning champions are now up 2-0 on the series and maintained their dominance over the Lakers by overcoming a 20-point deficit for the win.

It was an incredible ending with LeBron James stealing the ball and elevating for a dunk to put the Lakers ahead by three in the final two minutes. From there, Michael Porter Jr. tied it with a triple, D'Angelo Russell gave Los Angeles the lead with a layup, Murray hit two free throws to tie it, and then he and James exchanged baskets.

James had a wide-open three-pointer on the Lakers' final possession but missed it. That set the stage for Murray's game-winner, which drew plenty of reaction from social media:

Coldest photo of the NBA playoffs (-5000) 🥶✅

(via @nuggets) pic.twitter.com/LAzDxQ8bqX

— br_betting (@br_betting) April 23, 2024

THE LAKERS THREW EVERYTHING THEY HAD AT THE NUGGETS AND JAMAL MURRAY SAID HAVE FUN ON THE PLANE RIDE HOME BOYS

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) April 23, 2024

Jamal Murray is simply an all-time playoff performer. Never an All-Star, yet not many guys you take over him with the ball in his hands in that situation

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 23, 2024

DON'T TELL ME JAMAL MURRAY WENT FROM AS COLD AS I'VE SEEN HIM TO ... SLAMMING THE DOOR SHUT WITH SOME OF THE CLUTCHEST CLOSING YOU'LL EVER SEE.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 23, 2024

The Joker didn’t touch the ball the last few possessions. And Murray played like a dog until the last 2 minutes. The champs be the champs, man

— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) April 23, 2024

https://twitter.com/Lexiebrown/status/1782630048862011605

That was an unbelievable shot by Jamal Murray. Playoff Jamal Murray is the real deal. Best player in the NBA to not be an All-Star. More than deserves it.

— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) April 23, 2024

Wow, what a finish in Denver. Jamal Murray buries the buzzer beating fadeaway and the Nuggets take a 2-0 lead. What a shot from Murray.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) April 23, 2024

Jamal Freaking Murray if you need him! Bam!

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) April 23, 2024

Murray deserves most credit. but shouts to Jokic who, even while DOMINATING on every post up he wanted, whenever he wanted, kept forcing the ball back into Murray's hands the whole final 6+ mins. He needed Jamal back in rhythm. That belief is contagious, demanded him to get going

— Jared Wade (@Jared_Wade) April 23, 2024

Jamal Murray is a straight killer

— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) April 23, 2024

BUBBLE MURRAY IS BACK

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) April 23, 2024

Jamal Murray in the 4th quarter: 14 points, 6-8 shooting, and the game-winner.

He lives for that moment.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 23, 2024

Murray finished with 20 points and five assists on 9-of-24 shooting from the field, while Nikola Jokić dazzled with 27 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals. Porter also impressed with 22 points and nine boards behind 6-of-10 shooting from deep.

As for the Lakers, Monday's loss surely feels like an obstacle they may not be able to overcome.

While Denver swept Los Angeles in the 2023 Western Conference Finals and won all three regular-season matchups in 2023-24, it seemed like the Lakers were finally going to put that all behind them on Monday.

After all, they jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead while Anthony Davis (32 points and 11 rebounds) played at an unstoppable level. Russell also caught fire from deep on his way to 23 points and seven three-pointers, while James was in full control as the primary facilitator and de-facto point guard.

The King (26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds) dictated tempo in pick-and-rolls with Davis and then sensed when he needed to assert himself as a scorer with back-to-back three-pointers and an and-1 down the stretch after the Nuggets climbed all the way back from their 20-point deficit.

On another night, James' steal and monster dunk over Murray may have been the exclamation mark from another vintage performance by the all-time great.

Instead, Murray had other ideas.