Jamal Murray threw a heating pad on the floor during the middle of a possession in the Denver Nuggets' 106-80 Game 2 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Referee Marc Davis said after the game that Murray should have been assessed a technical foul, but not been ejected for the incident.
"I was the lead official, and I didn't notice it was on the floor or where it came from until Towns scored," Davis told a pool reporter. "We weren't aware it had come from the bench. If we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul."
Chris Finch called Murray's act "dangerous" and "inexcusable" and said the Wolves attempted to reason with the officiating crew to adjudicate the incident.
"We tried to impress upon [the referees] there probably aren't many fans in the building that have a heat pack, so it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical," Finch said. "I'm sure it was a mistake and an oversight and nothing intentional by the officiating at all, but certainly can't allow that to happen."
