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Anthony Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves continued their dominant run in the 2024 NBA Playoffs as they took a 2-0 lead against the defending champions, Denver Nuggets, after Game 2 in the Western Conference semi-finals on Monday night. The Nuggets left frustrated with the disappointing results in their back-to-back home games and it was visible late in the first half of Game 2 as Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray threw a heat pack on the court midgame.
The Timberwolves are on a sensational run as they swept Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the first round followed by their two wins on the road against the Nuggets. Anthony Edwards has been sensational for the Wolves, drawing comparisons with NBA legend Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.
During the second quarter, Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns' shot was blocked by Nuggets forward Kevin Porter Jr., however, Towns gained possession and scored the bucket. Jamal Murray, who appeared to exchange words with the officials on several occasions during the game, expressed his frustration on the play by throwing a heat pack on the court. While no player was injured slipping on the heat pack, the Nuggets guard avoided any disciplinary action by the officials.
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Apart from throwing the heat pack, Jamal Murray also appeared to mock the referees by making money signs and clapping in the face of an official. However, Murray somehow managed to avoid a technical foul during the game while Rudy Gobert was fined $100,000 for making the same gesture at the officials two months ago.
Watch Murray show money sign to officials:
Despite Wolves star center Rudy Gobert missing Game 2 against the Nuggets due to the birth of his first child, Minnesota clinched a dominating 26-point victory. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points each while Nuggets' Nikola Jokic ended two assists shy of a triple-double (16 pts, 16 rebs, 8 asts) in the loss.
In the post-match conference, Ant and KAT were asked about Murray's heat pack incident and the Wolves guard denied seeing it at first as he got to know about the incident once the official stopped the play. On the other hand, Towns said, "I saw it. I was just more worried about making the layup."
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Apart from Ant and KAT, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called Nuggets' Jamal Murray throwing the heat pack onto the floor in the second quarter "inexcusable" and "dangerous."
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