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Refs Face Volatile Allegations As Jamal Murray’s “Dangerous” Behavior Calls For His Suspension

Published 05/07/2024, 1:18 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

After securing a 4-1 win record against the Lakers during the first round of the playoffs, the luck for the Denver Nuggets seems to have recently hit a dead end. They failed to win their first Conference Semifinal game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and recently lost the second one as well. However, this recent matchup was met with a variety of allegations about the on-court referees favoring the rival team over the Nuggets. Amidst the roster, there was one person who did not shy away from making his frustration known: Point Guard Jamal Murray.

During the 2 quarter of the matchup, the cameras were able to catch a quick glimpse of Murray rubbing the fingers on his right hand in order to make the ‘money sign’ gesture towards the referees. The player may have engaged in this action to place a volatile allegation on the officiators out of anger. It wasn’t that long ago when Rudy Gobert was fined $100,000 for making the same ‘money sign’ gesture. Therefore, the Nuggets star may be susceptible to a fine or even a suspension in the future.

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Prior to engaging in the above action, the player was earlier caught throwing his heat pack onto the floor. After it landed on the court, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope quickly picked it up and prevented it from interfering with any of the other players. Fortunately, both incidents initially went unnoticed by officials. Timberwolves head coach, Chris Finch, was quick to react to the ‘heat pack’ incident by calling it “inexcusable” and “dangerous”. He attempted to call out a foul for the action. The referees, however, stated that the same wouldn’t be possible since they didn’t see it. The coach agreed with this action, stating that “I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight. I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officiating at all. But certainly, can’t allow that to happen.”

Murray managed to make 13 rebounds during the game. The Nuggets’ defensive capabilities limited his scoring to just 8 points in 36 minutes.

Former OKC player believes Jamal Murray may end up getting suspended from Game 3

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Along with the referees, both of the above-mentioned incidents would have gotten missed by viewers as well. Once they started getting attention on social media, however, people were quick to react. Several people from the world of basketball made their voice heard on this issue. One of them was former Oklahoma City Thunder player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.

Taking to his official X account, Perkins proceeded to highlight his belief that Jamal Murray will end up getting suspended for his recent actions. “It’s going to be interesting how the Nuggets are going to look in Game 3 without Murray” wrote the analyst.

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Jamal Murray is yet to speak out on making the money sign and throwing the heat pack. The point guard didn’t even stay to participate in the post-game presser. According to a spokesman, he reportedly left the arena without speaking to any media member. If the player wasn’t already in danger of incurring a hefty fine, then him brushing off the media may cause further trouble.

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Written by:

Ashmit Kumar

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Ashmit is an NBA Content Analyst at EssentiallySports. Having started as a writer, he specializes in writing captivating stories that include the elements of in-depth coverage of teams, players and more. Due to his knowledge of the technicalities of the sport, Ashmit writes perspective pieces that provide well-researched analysis.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja