Nuggets’ Jamal Murray breaks silence after Heat throw punishment

The Denver Nuggets are in the midst of a tough matchup in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets find themselves down 2-0 against the rugged Minnesota Timberwolves. Star guard Jamal Murray made headlines when his frustration in Game 2 led him to throw a heat pack onto the field mid-contest. Murray breaks his silence after the $100,000 fine imposed by the NBA for this act.

Murray spoke to reporters after Denver’s practice Wednesday and took responsibility for what happened Monday night.

“No, I mean, that’s how it is. I take full responsibilityso on to the next one,” Murray said when asked if the NBA fine was fair, according to Jake Shapiro.

Murray didn’t have much to say afterward. When asked if throwing the heat pack was simply a matter of frustration, this was his response:

“Yeah, uh, let’s move on to the next one. Two days ago I didn’t have much to say about it,” Murray added.

The Nuggets star guard was eventually asked if he had any conversations about apologizing for what happened, and he asked reporters if they had any basketball-related questions.

It’s clear that Murray isn’t happy with his performance thus far in the Nuggets-Timberwolves series. He finished the second game with eight points and 13 rebounds. His scoring was significantly lower than the 17 points he had in the first game when he went scoreless in the first half.

Murray has the ability to score 20+ points on a given night, so his play thus far has been surprising. The 27-year-old tied his career-high in points during the 2023-24 regular season with 21.2 per game as well as a career-best 42.5 percent from three-point range.

The talented guard must find a way to stay calm and return to his scoring dominance for the Nuggets to have a chance against the Timberwolves.

How will Nuggets’ Jamal Murray overcome Minnesota’s tough defense?

Murray’s frustration Monday night is a sign the Timberwolves are doing their job disrupting Denver’s offense. It will take some critical thinking from Michael Malone and his team to help Murray and the Nuggets bounce back in Game 3.

This isn’t the first time the star guard has had issues with Minnesota’s defense. The Nuggets faced the Timberwolves four times during the 2023-24 regular season and split the series 2-2. Murray reached the 20-point mark in just one of the games: the 116-110 victory on April 10. In the other two confrontations, he scored 14 and 18 points.

The deciding factor in Murray’s 20-point game in the April 10 win was Nikola Jokic’s 40-point night. Perhaps the answer to Murray’s problems lies in a better night from Jokic. The bar may seem high, but if Jokic can score 40 or more points in Game 2 and put even more pressure on the Timberwolves defense than he already is, Murray could perhaps have a better scoring night .

Of course, Denver also needs its role players to step up and know more plans to open things up further. No matter what happens in Game 3 and beyond, Jamal Murray and his teammates must stay grounded and keep fighting.

Murray can’t allow an altercation like the heat pack thrown to resurface. The $100,000 fine imposed on the league is hefty. Still, some believe that fining Murray without a suspension was a missed opportunity for the NBA to make a larger point about player conduct, according to the opinion of Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.

Things aren’t going well for Murray and the Nuggets. However, he and the team are able to bounce back for a better performance.