Kyrie Irving's post-game actions in Denver are going to cost him $25,000, according to reports.
With the game in hand and the final seconds ticking off the clock on Monday night, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray jacked up a three pointer in an attempt to eclipse the 50-point mark. Murray's shot clanked off the iron as the final buzzer sounded and Irving took it upon himself to launch the basketball into the crowd at the Pepsi Center.
After the game, Kyrie vented about the 115-107 loss and described Murray's last-second shot as a "bullshit move."
"I mean, what kind of competitor wouldn't it bother?" Irving said, per ESPN. "I understand if we fouled him, going to the free throw line. ... I don't want to make a big deal out of it.
"Obviously, I was pissed at the game, but it's time to decompress and move on. Congratulations to him having 48 points. He did it in a great fashion against us. Our defense has to be better, especially against a player like that in the pick-and-roll. He was the primary concern tonight and he made us pay in certain instances of making some tough shots and some tough layups.
"But the ball deserves to go in the crowd after a bullshit move like that. So I threw it in the crowd."
Murray, 21, told reporters (H/T ESPN), "I think my emotions took over, as it normally does. No disrespect to the Boston organization and fans with that shot -- I just had in my mind that I was going to go 50, and I think everybody kind of understood that was what I was trying to do. I really wasn't meaning no disrespect. ... I know half the team over there, so no hard feelings."
According to ESPN, Murray's 48 points surpassed Andrew Wiggins' 47 from a 2016-17 game as the most in NBA history by a Canada-born player.