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 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 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-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.
“I mean, it’s on camera,” Murray said when asked if his frustration was more related to the one play or an accumulation of calls throughout the night. “The whole game is being recorded. So if you want to go look at it, it’s there for the taking.”
Malone’s comeback lineup
Malone was pointed about the lack of effort and energy he felt the Nuggets had Friday, especially while allowing 40 points to Houston in the third quarter. In a notable move, he subbed out Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 3:32 remaining in the third, and neither returned the rest of the game. Instead, Peyton Watson played the entire fourth quarter, and Reggie Jackson played the bulk of it during Denver’s comeback attempt.
“I think sometimes it comes down to effort, want-to, fight, care,” Malone said. “And that group that we closed with, I thought they made the game interesting. It was fun to watch. … On a night when you’re not making shots, you have to do other things. And I think that group that was out there, we got stops, we rebounded, we ran, we executed.”
Jokic, Murray and Porter were the three starters who stayed on the floor.
“I give Coach some kudos, keeping the starters in there, keeping whoever’s playing hard in there,” Murray said, “and we were able to make it a game at least.”
