Jamal Murray heating pack throw: should've received a technical, ref says / News - Basketnews.com

The referees didn't see the heating pack came from the bench. Had they seen it was thrown by Murray, the guard would've been given a technical foul. It wasn't enough for an automatic ejection.

Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray threw a heating pack onto the court out of frustration in the second quarter of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night. It went unnoticed by the refereeing crew.

Player of the Game EFF 32 Karl-Anthony Towns Points 27 Accuracy 10-15 Rebounds 12 Assists 1

Crew Chief Marc Davis admitted after the game that had the officiating crew seen the item came from the bench from one of the Nuggets players, the episode would've been reviewed and Murray would've received a technical foul.

"I was the lead official and I didn’t notice it was on the floor or where it came from until [Anthony] Towns scored," he said in the official pool report to Denver Gazette's Vinny Benedetto.

"We weren’t aware it had come from the bench, if we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger," Davis explained. "The penalty would have been a technical foul."

According to the referee, the referees would've had to determine it to be a hostile act by Murray and a throw toward a specific person for it to have been an automatic ejection.

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

The Nuggets are down 0-2 in the series after losing both games at home. Rudy Gobert did not play in Game 2 due to personal reasons.

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