Nuggets news: Jamal Murray gets ejected for hitting Tim's hard-a-ways

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was ejected on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks after hitting Tim Hardaway Jr. in the groin area late in the third quarter.

It remains unclear if it was an accident or retaliation by the usually composed Murray. The Mavericks coaching staff, however, reacted adamantly after seeing the ballsy play.

Jamal Murray was ejected after this play on Tim Hardaway Jr. pic.twitter.com/VtxEXAoQDN

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 26, 2021

Below is another angle of the incident. Did Murray accidentally collide with Hardaway's crotch on his way up? Or was the whole thing deviously orchestrated by the Nuggets guard?

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1353904223096877059?s=20

The referees were firm in their decision that there was malice behind Murray's nutty antics. He got ejected after being slapped with a Flagrant 2 foul. He left the game with 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists in 25 minutes of action. Lucky for him, the Nuggets came away with the victory 117-113.

Michael Porter Jr. picked up the scoring slack in Murray's early exit with 30 points on top of eight rebounds, while Nikola Jokic chipped in 20 markers, 10 boards, and four assists.

Hardaway, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and possibly two painful sacks, spoke about the incident after the game. He doesn't seem too bothered about it. What disappointed him was that they failed to lock in the victory.

Hardaway on the Murray incident: "I was trying to do the best I could to deny the ball. The rest speaks for itself." Asked whether the league office needs to look into the play, Hardaway said, "It doesn't even matter at this point. What matters is we lost."

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 26, 2021