Facing the defending champions didn’t seem to matter when facing a rebellious side such as the Minnesota Timberwolves. Led by a barbarian-like talent in Anthony Edwards, the Wolves dissected the Nuggets in their own home. They did it not once, but twice. The second time around, the pack of Wolves shredded Nikola Jokic‘s power, accounting for a 20+ point blowout win. However, the talking point of the game was centered around elsewhere.

During Game 2, Jamal Murray. was captured throwing a heat pack and towel in the direction of an official. No ruling was made during the live game. It was only a day later that the NBA announced a fine of $100,000 with suspension speculations on the float for his endangering act; which could have caused serious injuries to players on the court. Coach Chris Finch even called it “dangerous and inexcusable.” The intensity, thus, had Stephen A. Smith looking into the matter.

The veteran media personality revealed that he wasn’t surprised to see Murray escape a suspension. However, he feels it wasn’t Adam Silver who steered the decision.

Anthony Edwards and the Wolves want all the smoke from Jamal Murray

During the latest episode of his show, Smith divulged into speaking about the Nuggets-Wolves series. In particular, he expanded on Murray’s fine. After complimenting Silver’s work as the commissioner, he continued to question his decision regarding Murray. The ESPN analyst used Draymond Green’s suspension in the 2016 Finals as his defense.

Then Smith saw it from another angle altogether. He pieced a picture together wherein, the Timberwolves themselves might be responsible for Murray not receiving a suspension for Game 3 of their series.

“In the end what it comes down to is this with Jamal Murray. He is going to play tonight and you know what, the way the Minnesota Timberwolves looked particularly in that first half against the Denver Nuggets, it’s almost as if they called the league and said ‘Don’t suspend him. Let him stay on the court so we can kick his ass some more. That’s how ferocious their defense was,”. said Smith.

Smith has been marveled by the Wolves since watching the development of an aggressive-minded and competitive Anthony Edwards. Moreover, he is also right. The Wolves’ defense, ranking first in the NBA shut off one of the well-engineered offenses without the reigning DPOY Rudy Gobert. Apart from Kyle Anderson and Towns, every other Wolves player held the opposition to below 30% shooting! These numbers are as ludicrous as they can get.

Denver’s last three home defeats now all belong to Minnesota. They are currently lounging with a 2-0 lead in the series heading home for Game 3. It had promised to be a close and tightly-wound series. However, no one expected Edwards and the Wolves to slaughter the champions in such humiliating fashion.

With Jamal Murray playing in Game 3, do you give Jokic and Co. any chance at winning this series? Let us know in the comments below.