Nuggets Coach Rips Officials for Jamal Murray Ejection

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reacted to Murray's ejection

Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray was ejected late in Friday night's loss to the Houston Rockets, as his frustration with the officiating had been growing all game. This is what his head coach Michael Malone pointed out during his post game media session, saying that Murray got ejected because he was getting choked while cutting through the lane. 

Michael Malone on Jamal Murray's ejection: "He got thrown out because he was cutting through the lane and was getting choked...That causes frustration."

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 9, 2023

Murray‘s ejection did not have a huge impact on the game, as it was with just 38 seconds remaining, and the Nuggets already on their way to a loss. That said, while this ejection did not directly impact the outcome of the game, Malone does bring up a very strong point about how officials often go about these ejections. 

For players like Murray, frustration usually mounts throughout the course of a game with officials missing calls that players feel are obvious. Often times these are very egregious misses, but players are still given technical fouls and ejections for making that known.

Officiating at the NBA level is a very difficult job, but players often feel that referees are not willing to hear them out, and simply hand out technical fouls without any real dialogue. This is where most of the frustration stems from when it comes to how players feel about officiating, and Malone alluded to that with this answer about his star point guard getting fouled without any calls.

Related Articles

Michael Malone Reveals Hilarious Moment With Nikola Jokic After Ejection

Victor Wembanyama Makes History vs. Nuggets

Nuggets Starter Shares Amazing Message About Nikola Jokic