Nuggets’ Michael Malone on Jamal Murray’s late-game ejection vs. Rockets: “He was getting choked.”
Michael Malone went to a different closing lineup as the Nuggets rallied against Houston, opting not to play two starters.
Not for the first time this season, the defending NBA champions have gripes with the way they’re being officiated.
Tensions were already high Friday night as the Nuggets were attempting to overcome a seemingly insurmountable 25-point deficit in the last nine minutes. With an 18-0 run, they finally got a stir out of Ball Arena, a justifiably lifeless building for the first three quarters given the home team’s performance. The Rockets were perhaps tensing up a bit. This game had everything. Except for a referee controversy.
In the final four minutes, Jamal Murray was ejected after picking up two technical fouls in quick succession, Michael Porter Jr. was handed a technical for slamming the ball in response to a foul call, and it was a miracle Nikola Jokic didn’t get one or two of his own after he vehemently argued whistles (or the lack thereof) during his post-game battles with Alperen Sengun.
Murray joined Jokic and coach Michael Malone in the Nuggets’ club of ejectees this season. He was tossed with 38 seconds left after Denver (14-9) had cut Houston’s lead to six.
“I just think he got thrown out because he was cutting through the lane and he was getting choked,” Malone said. “So if you have arms around your neck, I would probably get thrown out too. So I fully support Jamal. Though you never want to get fourth-quarter techs,. That’s like an unwritten rule. But as I watched that clip, he’s cutting through the lane and he’s being held up the way he’s being held up. And it happens over and over. That causes frustration. I think that’s what happened with that. But I have Jamal’s back, 1,000%. I thought he was a warrior for us tonight.”
Murray had just received his first tech seconds earlier. While Denver had possession, his attempt to cut off the ball was guarded physically, prompting him to turn to the baseline official and yell, demanding a foul call. After Murray’s second technical was issued, he stormed down the tunnel.
