‘Unforgivable’: Wolves coach criticizes Murray’s controversial gesture

Head of arbitration at Minnesota Timberwolves win 106-80 against Denver Nuggetsin Game 2 of the series by West semifinalsMarc Davis acknowledged that Jamal Murray should have been punished with a technical foul, but not expelled, for throwing a thermal bag onto the court.

The point guard was caught on TV cameras as Karl-Anthony Towns caught a pass from Kyle Anderson to push Minnesota’s lead to 49-30 with 4:41 remaining in the second quarter.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took the bag, took it off the court and the match continued without the referee taking any action.

“I was the head referee and I didn’t realize it was on the ground or where it came from until Towns scored the point,” Davis told the press. “We didn’t know it had come from the bank. If we had known, we could have reviewed the move from the perspective of a hostile act. The penalty would have been a technical foul.”

The Timberwolves now lead the Western Conference semifinal series 2-0.

Wolves coach Chris Finch called Murray’s gesture “dangerous and inexcusable,” and said the team’s players tried to reason with the refereeing team to review the incident.

“We tried to convince [os árbitros] that there probably aren’t many fans in the gym with cooler bags, so it would probably have to come from the bench, which they thought was logical,” Finch said.

“I’m sure it was a mistake, an oversight, but nothing intentional on the part of the referee. But I certainly can’t allow that to happen.”

Jamal Murray, who finished Game 2 with 8 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers, left Ball Arena without speaking to reporters.

Only five teams in NBA history have lost their first two home games and advanced in a best-of-seven playoff series, according to data from the NBA. ESPN:

• Los Angeles Lakers over Houston Rockets in 1969;

• Rockets over Phoenix Suns in 1994;

• Dallas Mavericks over Rockets in 2005;

• Boston Celtics over Chicago Bulls in 2017;

• LA Clippers over Mavericks in 2021;