5. Perfect Triple-Doubles

When/where: Dec. 28, 2023 and Feb. 22, 2024; Ball Arena

The only proper way to begin a contained list of Jokic moments is by cheating. So, in his honor, here’s a quick two-for-one. In Jokic’s first eight seasons, he had two triple-doubles while also shooting 100% from the floor. He had only one game without a missed shot on double-digit attempts. So the pair of “perfect triple-doubles” he pulled off this season were rare even for him. Both were galvanizing landmarks, too. Against Memphis in December (26 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 for 11), he jump-started a nine-game heater in which he shot 81%. And against Washington out of the All-Star break (21, 19 and 15 on 10-for-10 shooting), he checked off the last opponent he hadn’t registered a triple-double against. It started Denver on a 21-6 run to end the season.

4. Huge shot, heavy heart

When/where: Jan. 23, 2024; Gainbridge Fieldhouse

When Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic suddenly died at age 46, the entire basketball community mourned. But the loss was personal for Jokic. Milojevic was his head coach in Serbia before both made it in the NBA. As he navigated a difficult week, Jokic didn’t speak publicly the first two games after Milojevic’s death. The third game was a barn-burner in Indianapolis, where Jokic’s 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer put the Nuggets ahead 114-109 with 6.1 seconds remaining, icing a resilient win. Speaking about Milojevic after the 31-point triple-double, he was short and sweet: “I love him.”

3. Invisible Alley-Oop

When/where: Oct. 27, 2023; FedExForum

Even the live local broadcasts were caught asleep, adding an elusive aura to one of the finest assists of Jokic’s career. During the second game of the season, he snatched the ball from an official next to Denver’s bench, which was at the defensive end of the floor. While the Grizzlies were still arguing a call, he inbounded the ball with a casual Hail Mary that traveled 71 feet and 9 inches, at an average velocity of 30.6 mph, until it reached Aaron Gordon. In mid-air. Right above the rim. For an easy dunk. Jamal Murray even confessed he didn’t see the alley-oop.

2. Streak Breaker

When/where: Jan. 19, 2024; TD Garden

It was the halfway point of the season, and the Celtics were still undefeated at home (20-0) when the Nuggets made their annual visit to Boston. The two-man game between Jokic and Murray was not to be denied. They became the only reliable source of offense, accounting for 31 of Denver’s 47 points in the second half of a 102-100 statement win. Jokic finished the night with 34 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists on 14-of-22 shooting — the classic idea of an “MVP moment.”

1. Bay Area Buzzer Beater

When/where: Jan. 4, 2024; Chase Center

It might age as the most replayed, revisited shot of Jokic’s career. The Nuggets miraculously climbed back from an 18-point deficit in the final 6:34 of regulation, all building to a timeout in the backcourt with 3.6 seconds left. The score was 127-all. Jokic caught the inbound pass and made an unusual beeline toward a particular spot along the opposite sideline. It was far from the optimal route to get as close as possible to the basket before time expired. But Jokic’s IQ evidently overruled conventional wisdom. He pulled up with a hand in his face and banked a 40-footer at the buzzer — resulting in an image of a fierce, fervid Jokic that’ll live forever in Denver.

In another season of unpredictably dazzling passes and post moves, the most spontaneous scene of all involved Nikola Jokic simply walking off a basketball court.

It was January in Washington after a 42-point masterclass against an unimpressive opponent. A throng of Wizards fans flocked to the corner of their arena where Jokic would disappear down the tunnel toward the locker room. The enemy sent him off with an ovation. “There’s a lot of talented players in this league,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said afterward, “but if you don’t love Nikola Jokic, I don’t know what you’re looking for.”

Jokic, 29, was named Most Valuable Player in the NBA for the third time in his career Wednesday night, beating out finalists Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) for the 2023-24 prize.

He is the ninth three-time MVP in league history, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Moses Malone. Only seven players have won the award three times in a four-year stretch.

Jokic earned 79 of 99 first-place votes in a runaway victory. He was followed by Gilgeous-Alexander (15 first-place votes), Doncic (4) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (1). Voters rank their top-five. A first-place vote is worth 10 points. A second-place vote is worth seven points; third-place is worth five; fourth-place is three; and fifth-place is one. The lowest Jokic finished on anyone’s ballot was third place. He amassed 926 points. Gilgeous-Alexander was the runner-up with 640 points.

Since the implementation of a media voting panel in 1980-81, only three players have finished top-two in MVP voting four consecutive years: Bird, Tim Duncan and now Jokic. Russell and Abdul-Jabbar accomplished the feat under the old voting system.

Jokic finished the regular season ranked fifth in total points, third in total rebounds and second in total assists — top-five in all three categories for the second time in his career. He averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists per game, compiling 25 triple-doubles and shooting 58.3% from the field. His true shooting percentage eclipsed 65% for the third consecutive season.

“I think he’s stated his case pretty well,” longtime teammate Jamal Murray said Wednesday before the award was announced amid an awkward backdrop: Denver trailing a playoff series 2-0. “He does it every night. It’s hard to do what he does and face the kind of pressure that he does each and every day. He does it in the smallest ways. He makes everybody around us better. He’s a leader on the court and someone we expect greatness from every time he steps on the court. And he’s delivered. … He’s been so consistent all his career, all his MVP runs. He’s been so consistent. So I don’t expect one or two bad games to sway that in any way.”

When Jokic was on the court this season, the Nuggets outscored their opponents by 11.8 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the court, they were outscored by 8.6 points per 100 possessions, amounting to a 20.4-point difference in net rating. Denver’s 122.4 offensive rating with Jokic on the floor was more efficient than the best offensive team in the league, the Celtics (122.2). Denver’s 104.1 offensive rating without Jokic was lower than the worst offensive team in the league, the Grizzlies (106.8).

The Nuggets finished in a tie for the best record in the Western Conference. Their 57-25 regular season tied a franchise wins record. Jokic is the team’s only starter who has been named an All-Star in his career.

He averaged 101.3 touches per game, nearly 10 more than any other individual in the league, and 75.1 passes per game, 3.5 more than any other player. He led the NBA in most advanced metrics including player efficiency rating (31.0), win shares (17.0), win shares per 48 minutes (.299), offensive box plus/minus (9.0), defensive box plus/minus (4.2) and value over a replacement player (10.6).

“What I marvel at most importantly with Nikola the player is just the consistent greatness,” Malone said during the last week of the regular season, when he predicted Jokic would win the MVP again. “How he finds ways to, every single night, no matter who’s available around him, to bring that level of excellence every night and basically put that team on his back.”

Jokic’s first two MVPs were bestowed before he had won a championship, or even reached the NBA Finals. Each was accompanied, therefore, by a fair degree of scrutiny. He didn’t have the winning reputation to correspond with his individual accolades.

That’s different this time. Jokic owns a Finals MVP trophy. A month before the startling round of applause he received in Washington, another unusual scene paralleled it, speaking volumes about the growth of Jokic’s eminence outside Denver. It was Dec. 12 in Chicago, and for the second time in three weeks, Jokic had just been tossed from a game after arguing with referees.

This time, as he sauntered toward the locker room to serve his sentence, the crowd started booing. Not at Jokic. At the officials. Only one technical foul prompted the ejection. Disappointment and disgust permeated through United Center as Bulls fans watched the reason they’d purchased their tickets disappear for the night.

Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray took responsibility Wednesday for throwing objects in the direction of an official during a playoff game, attempting to deflect follow-up questions about the incident and emphasizing that he has moved on.

“It is what it is,” he said when asked about his punishment from the NBA, a $100,000 fine but no accompanying suspension. “I take full responsibility, so on to the next.”

When asked about his frustration boiling over, a terse Murray repeated that his focus is Game 3 against the Timberwolves. “I mean, it was two days ago,” he said. “Not much for me to say about it right now.” Murray then asked if reporters had any basketball questions for him when pressed further about his communication with the league regarding the incident.

Murray had departed the locker room without speaking to reporters Monday night after he threw a towel and a heat pack in the direction of lead official Marc Davis during a 106-80 loss.

“I’ve never seen that from Jamal. That was very uncharacteristic for me,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who had been unaware of the incident when asked about it during his postgame news conference. “And I think it was probably a combination of … taking a charge and it’s not called, a combination of not making shots at the level we know he’s capable of making, a combination of us being down 30 points to a team that we’re trying to beat to get to the Western Conference Finals. When you put that all in that boiling pot, man, that’s a lot to handle. And he didn’t handle it in the way he knows he needs to handle it, and I’m sure he told you guys that. But Jamal will bounce back. I have no doubt about that.”

Murray and the Nuggets trail their second-round series 2-0 as they fly to Minnesota on Thursday morning. Game 3 is Friday night at Target Center. Only five teams in NBA history have won a playoff series after losing the first two games at home, most recently the Clippers in 2021. Only 33 teams have rallied to win a series after falling behind 2-0 regardless of home court.

“As I told our players, is it possible? Yes. History tells us it’s possible,” Malone said. “But you have to participate in your own recovery. Just because it’s been done before doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. Only if we have the requisite mindset.”

Mental fortitude was Malone’s biggest concern as the Nuggets gathered for a film session, which featured nine clips from the Game 2 blowout — some offense, some defense. A significant element of Denver’s scoring struggle has been Minnesota’s relentless ball pressure. The Timberwolves, perhaps with Murray’s sore left calf in mind, have picked him up near mid-court, forcing him to reckon with his diminished ability to get separation from defenders. Even when it hasn’t resulted in a turnover, it has often led to Denver working late in the shot clock. The Nuggets were forced into bad, contested shots in Game 2. The Timberwolves blocked 12, even without their central rim protector, Rudy Gobert.

Malone refused to make injury excuses for Murray, echoing Murray’s own message about the calf, but the coach acknowledged that Denver has focused some of its practice time on finding ways to help Murray negotiate around any physical limitations.

“I think we just need to help (ball-handlers) out. Jamal can’t do that alone, and Joker can’t do that stuff alone,” Christian Braun said. “It’s gotta be a by-committee thing. They’re playing defense by committee. We’ve gotta help (Murray) out, whether it’s screening in the backcourt, somebody else bringing it up, whatever it is. Just get into our offense and play organized basketball. When we do that, we’re really tough to beat.”

Gobert is expected to return for Game 3 after the birth of his first child, meaning the Nuggets are likely to see more of a schematic identity that resembles the series opener from Minnesota. But the primary theme that translated to Game 2 regardless was the Timberwolves’ physicality. Malone stressed to Denver’s players to play through what they might perceive as fouls, rather than stopping to look at the officials.

“I was probably more disappointed with the, not on-the-court but off-the-court, our reaction to the adversity,” Malone said, speaking on not just Murray but the Nuggets collectively. “I’d never seen that in my nine years, and the first time in the last six years of making the playoffs. How when things got tough, we just kind of fell apart.”

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We began Monday talking about Rudy Gobert’s first baby and spent Tuesday discussing Jamal Murray acting like a toddler.

Is it any wonder the Nuggets trail 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals?

They have dissolved before our eyes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unable to match their opponent’s physicality, the Nuggets stamped their feet and sought a life raft from the officials in Game 2.

The only thing more embarrassing than the final score was the Nuggets’ actions. After stating their case eloquently in the first quarter, especially coach Michael Malone, the pleading should have been beneath them. We can all agree there were multiple bad calls and no calls. But let the fans roar in disgust. Instead, the Nuggets made it a convenient excuse for getting their ears boxed.

The Timberwolves respect the champion but do not fear them, running over, through and around them.

Rather than counterpunch, the Nuggets responded like the Lakers, throwing their arms in the air and clapping their hands sarcastically with whistles.

And that was their best behavior.

What Murray did in the second quarter was appropriately summed up by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as “inexcusable and dangerous.”

Murray deserved a one-game suspension. The league, not surprisingly, did not have the stomach to give it to him. Instead, Murray was fined $100,000 on Tuesday for “throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play.”

He got off easy. This is not meant as a hot take, but rather a conclusion based on the aggregate of his actions. Murray made the money sign at a referee, a gesture that netted Gobert a $100,000 fine in March. Then, Murray completely lost his composure while seated on the end of the bench. With 4:57 remaining in the second quarter, he tossed a towel in referee Marc Davis’ direction.

Even if you give Murray the benefit of the doubt that he was punching his fist in frustration and the towel came loose from his grip, he undermined his defense by what he did next.

Sixteen seconds later, he can be seen clearly in video tossing a heat pack in Davis’ direction that reached the court as players battled near the rim. It came close to Karl-Anthony Towns’ feet and was ultimately picked up by Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and flipped out of bounds.

The good news is that no one was hurt. Based on my social media feeds, many believe this excuses Murray. No harm, no foul, even though freak accidents can and do happen. His intent was to hit the official, so no big deal, right?

Well, any fan throwing an object onto the court is ejected. How is this different? In fact, after Murray’s heat pad toss, the PA announcer reminded the crowd of the rules, figuring that is how the object ended up on the floor. I wonder if Murray wanted to get tossed. We remain unsure because he left Monday without addressing the media.

Davis, the crew chief, indicated that had he known Murray fired the heat pack, he would have received a technical foul, but not an ejection. An ejection, per Davis, requires a determination that the object was “thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration.”

That is a reason why many NBA experts believe Murray escaped suspension. There is no specific rule against what he did. Do we really require section A, Roman numeral V to remind players that they cannot toss objects onto the court during live action?

Its absence represents more of a loophole than logic.

In a moment of anger, Murray endangered players. It would have been easy to ban him for Game 3. There is a bit of a precedent. The Miami Heat, in consultation with the NBA, suspended Dewayne Dedmon one game last season for hitting a chair so violently that it catapulted a theragun massage device near midcourt during live play.

Nothing, though, is ever linear with the NBA. There is always an arbitrary nature to its rulings that seem self-serving. And obviously, the league did not want the defending champ to face the Timberwolves in Game 3 without its second-best player. I hope Nuggets fans remember this if an opposing star acts this way against their team in the future.

The strongest argument for Murray only receiving a hefty fine remains his resume.

He has never been involved in anything like this. This was not Draymond Green choking a player or Patrick Beverly firing basketballs into the stands. Murray has conducted himself with character and class throughout his career.

But a fine without discipline makes it difficult to take the NBA seriously when it talks about player safety.

Murray made a shot in this postseason. He made another one. He was celebrated for both.

Then on a night when he was compromised by his left calf, leading to an awful performance, he made a mistake. He avoided a ban, so hopefully, he can learn from it and return to acting more like an adult.

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The NBA has fined Jamal Murray $100,000 for throwing multiple items in the direction of an official during a playoff game between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, the league announced Tuesday.

Murray avoided a suspension after the league reviewed the incident, sources told The Denver Post. He will be eligible to play Friday in Game 3 of the second-round series, which the Nuggets trail 2-0.

Murray was seated at the end of the home bench during the second quarter of Game 2 when he threw what appeared to be a heat pack in the direction of lead official Marc Davis. The item flew past Davis, who was on the baseline, and landed near the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during live play. Murray had been frustrated with the officiating throughout the first half of what turned out to be a 106-80 loss.

Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.

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

However, the NBA’s news release specified that Murray’s punishment was a result of throwing the heat pack in the direction of the official. The release also specified “multiple objects,” referring to a towel that Murray also threw toward Davis earlier in the same possession. Davis didn’t appear to notice the towel, which was collected by an individual on the baseline as play continued.

The NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena after the heat pack was discarded during a dead ball. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous.”

“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical (foul) unless they see it. We tried to impress upon them that 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.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Game 2 that he was unaware Murray had thrown the heat pack, but he conceded that the Nuggets “lost control of our emotions” in their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Murray scored eight points in the loss, shooting 3 for 18 with just two assists and four turnovers. He has been dealing with a left calf injury since the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, though he made game-winning shots twice in that series.

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In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene after the Minnesota Timberwolves blew away Denver to take a 2-0 series lead. Among the topics discussed:

• Jamal Murray threw in the towel and the heat pack. How does this affect the team, the struggling star and the Nuggets’ chances to dig out of a deep hole against a surging Minnesota team?
• What answer is there for Anthony Edwards? With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hobbled and struggling, Bennett contends Christian Braun might be the best bet.
• Nikola Jokic is on the verge of his third MVP but took just 13 shots in the Game 2 loss. Does he need to do more?
• The Minnesota defense ranked No. 1 this season and is proving its worth during an unbeaten playoff run — even with Rudy Gobert missing Game 2. Are there avenues the Nuggets can explore to overcome the suffocating attack?

Subscribe to the podcast
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Producer: AAron Ontiveroz
Music: “The Last Dragons” by Schama Noel

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Tad Boyle is bringing a former teammate to Boulder.

And, much like a significant chunk of the football staff across campus, a prominent name with a pro pedigree is joining the Colorado men’s basketball program.

On Tuesday, Boyle and the Buffaloes announced the addition of Danny Manning as an assistant coach. Manning replaces Rick Ray, who spent four seasons at CU before taking an assistant role at Vanderbilt following a season that ended for the Buffs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m very excited to join coach Boyle’s staff,” Manning said in a release from CU. “This staff has been together for quite some time and has had quite a bit of success, so I want to come in and be a sponge; learn from them, the things they’ve been doing to be successful and just try and add little nuggets that I can along the way in terms of my experience as a player and a coach.

“I’d like to thank (athletic director) Rick George and the administration for giving me this opportunity. I’m looking forward to being part of the Buffalo culture and can’t wait to get to Boulder.”

A College Basketball Hall of Famer and the No. 1 overall selection in the 1988 NBA draft, Manning was a freshman at Kansas in the 1984-85 season when Boyle was a senior. After leading the Jayhawks to the national championship as a senior, Manning suffered a torn ACL as an NBA rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers. Yet Manning ultimately played 15 seasons in the league, averaging a career-high 22.8 points during the 1992-93 season.

In 883 career games, Manning scored 12,367 points before retiring after the 2002-03 season. Manning was a two-time all-star and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year honor for the 1997-98 season.

Manning returned to Kansas to begin his coaching career, serving in a number of staff roles under KU coach Bill Self before taking an assistant coach spot during the 2006-07 season. Manning was part of KU’s 2008 national title team and earned his first head coach job at Tulsa ahead of the 2012-13 season. Manning spent two seasons at Tulsa, leading the program to the 2014 NCAA Tournament before taking the head coach spot at Wake Forest.

Manning went 78-111 in six seasons at Wake Forest, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Manning also served as the interim head coach at Maryland for the final 24 games of the 2021-22 season after another KU-era friend of Boyle’s, Mark Turgeon, resigned early in the year. Manning joined Louisville as an assistant in the 2022-23 season.

Boyle and Manning worked together in the summer of 2017, when both were assistants for the USA Basketball U19 team under John Calipari.

“He’s going to help us on a lot of different levels,” Boyle said in CU’s release. “Danny brings the ability to connect with young people, being able to mentor them and let them know what they heed to do to get better but also what they need to do to achieve their ultimate goal, which is to be a professional basketball player, which a lot of our players aspire to be. His ability to recruit and connect with families is there as well.”

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The Nuggets got too heated and let it spill onto the court.

Their offense went to waste. Their coach went nose-to-nose with a referee. Their defense deteriorated.

And with one flick of Jamal Murray’s wrist, their championship pedigree disappeared.

Murray’s rash decision to throw a heat pack onto the floor during play was a brutally on-the-nose metaphor for the collective loss of composure that characterized Denver’s Game 2 embarrassment against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

“I thought we lost control of our emotions a little bit tonight,” coach Michael Malone said.

“We’ve gotta leave the officials alone, honestly,” Aaron Gordon said. “They’re not looking to help us. They’re looking to officiate the game.”

Even before Murray’s projectile landed near the feet of lead official Marc Davis, Malone was practically begging for an ejection and evidently not using the necessary language. (“Although Coach Malone was visibly upset about both his team and the officials,” Davis said in a pool report interview, adding insult to injury, “I did not hear him say anything unsportsmanlike that warranted a technical foul.”)

Even well after the Murray incident, Gordon was handed a technical foul because a whole season’s worth of pent-up frustration at Nikola Jokic no-calls finally caused him to snap.

“I think they’re just draped all over Joker. I think they’re just hacking him. They’re hacking,” Gordon said. “Yeah, and just not being able to communicate with the officials is frustrating as well. When you have to ask them a question and they don’t even look at you, they don’t even acknowledge you, very frustrating. And I think they’re hacking Joker. I think he’s been getting fouled all year. I don’t think he shoots nearly enough free throws, of what he should shoot. So yeah, it was just frustrating. I don’t like seeing my big fella get hacked with no calls.”

That’s a conflict that dates back to November and December, when Jokic was ejected twice from games after arguing with referees. Gordon is especially protective of the two-time MVP, whom he calls a close friend, and the Nuggets have always been exasperated by how Jokic is officiated. But even Gordon knew in hindsight that now was not the time for theatrics.

“I’m kind of giving you guys contradictory statements about talking to the officials and them not even acknowledging me,” he admitted, “but at the same time, we’ve gotta just focus and play the game.”

Soon after Gordon’s technical, the Nuggets reached their nadir, a 32-point deficit on the home court where they’re supposed to be near-invincible. Last postseason, they were 10-1 in Denver. This year, they’re 3-2, and two of those wins required last-second shots from Murray.

Minnesota’s defense is not the Lakers’ defense. The Timberwolves stay glued to every action away from the ball. They close out on shots with a vengeance — they compiled 12 blocks Monday. They swipe at the ball and, yes, probably hack sometimes. But when it became clear in the first half that the officials were going to let ’em play, the Nuggets failed to make the commensurate adjustments to their own physicality at the defensive end. They let Anthony Edwards walk all over them.

Between halftime of Game 1 and halftime of Game 2, the Timberwolves — ranked 17th in the NBA in offensive rating this season — made 51 of 82 shots (62.2%).

“After that first quarter, there was basically one team on the floor,” Jokic said. “They were more aggressive. They were more physical.”

His hyperbole about one team disappearing entirely was also on-the-nose. Ninety minutes before the opening tip, Malone had implored Jokic to be more aggressive, regardless of Rudy Gobert’s attendance status. Turned out, there was no Gobert.

But Jokic attempted only 13 field goals in 39 minutes. Murray scored eight points on 3-for-18 shooting. They combined for 10 assists and eight turnovers. Both have been insufficient in ball-screen defense.

That’s where the current sense of despondency begins and ends. It’s not the Nuggets’ perceived defining flaw that’s costing them the series so far — though it certainly doesn’t help that Minnesota is twice as deep. It’s the complete lack of production from their star players, their championship assets.

“Jamal and Nikola — nine years, eight years — we’ve been through a lot,” Malone said. “Hopefully those guys can help in terms of leading the charge and rallying the troops.”

When asked how the Nuggets will respond in Game 3 on Friday, Jokic offered only a tepid response: “I don’t know, we will see.” And Murray was out of the locker room quickly after the final buzzer without speaking to reporters.

So Gordon did his best to imbue confidence in a bleak moment, emphasizing that one win in Minnesota can swing the momentum of the series. He’s a player who prides himself on his ability to take a bump and give it back. He even seemed to get in Karl-Anthony Towns’ head at one point during Game 1.

So Gordon knows as well as anyone that if Denver wants that one win, it’ll have to rediscover some mental and physical composure first.

“I feel like we’re getting pushed off our spots; they were grabbing and holding, and we were looking for the officials,” he said. “We weren’t doing anything about it.”

Jamal Murray would have received a technical foul but not an ejection if officials had known Murray was responsible for a thrown item on the court during the Nuggets’ loss to the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Monday night.

Lead official Marc Davis was not aware the item came from Denver’s bench, he said in a pool report interview, otherwise the officials could have reviewed the incident under the NBA’s “hostile act trigger.” A review would have resulted in a technical foul but not an ejection.

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

The league was reviewing the incident as of Tuesday morning, The Denver Post learned.

In the pool report, crew chief Marc Davis says Jamal Murray would’ve received a technical foul but not an ejection if the officials had been aware of the source of the thrown item. pic.twitter.com/IyIgxVsb1O

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) May 7, 2024

Davis was the nearest referee on the baseline when an item flew past him and landed around the feet of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson during the second quarter. Television cameras revealed that the item appeared to be a heat pack, and that Murray appeared to be the person who threw it.

At the next dead ball, the NBA code of conduct for spectators was shown on the jumbotron at Ball Arena, instructing fans not to throw items on the court. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the incident as “inexcusable and dangerous” after Minnesota’s 106-80 win.

The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2024

“I didn’t actually see it happen, but when it was explained to me, the referees didn’t see it either,” Finch said. “So they weren’t able to issue a technical unless they see it. We tried to impress upon them that 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.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he knew there was a heat pack on the floor, but he was unaware how it got there. Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said he didn’t realize someone had thrown it. Murray departed the home locker room without speaking to reporters after the game.

“I’m sure it was just a mistake and an oversight (by the refs),” Finch said, “and I’m sure there was nothing intentional by the officials at all. But certainly we can’t allow that to happen.”