Jazz notes: Nuggets’ Afflalo fined $15k for foul on Burks

Get your checkbook out, Arron Afflalo. That one's going to cost you.

The NBA on Tuesday slapped the Nuggets guard with a $15,000 fine for "making excessive contact above the shoulders" with Jazz guard Alec Burks late in Monday's game at EnergySolutions Arena.

With 5:55 left in Denver's eventual 103-101 win over the Jazz, Utah forward Gordon Hayward passed the ball to Burks during a fast break and Afflalo leaped into the air, swiping and striking Burks across the face.

Afflalo was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and ejected. The guard previously was ejected in a March 2012 game against the Jazz for hitting Hayward with an elbow.

After the game, Denver coach Brian Shaw said he did not believe his player was being malicious.

"I understand the flagrant because it was a strike to the head, but I thought that the hit to the head happened because [Burks] ducked on the layup," Shaw said. "Arron was trying to swipe, trying to make a play at the ball. … Those things happened and it was a hard foul. Arron's not a dirty player, so it wasn't intentional by any means."

Burks, who crashed to the ground and looked to be in pain, acknowledged he was hit hard but did not have much to say beyond that.

"It is what it is," he said. "It's the game of basketball."

While Afflalo was assessed a flagrant and ejected, the Jazz picked up a technical foul, too.

After the foul, a small scrum broke out as Jazz center Enes Kanter confronted Afflalo. Burks, meanwhile, writhed in pain on the ground and trainer Gary Briggs attended to him. It was Briggs who was hit with the technical for entering the court when no timeout had been called.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder defended his trainer afterward.

"I'm fortunate to have him as a trainer with all his experience," he said when asked about the foul. "It was probably my fault for not calling the 20 and not realizing the situation. I don't think it's a situation that you can place blame on anybody. It's about as inconsequential in my mind as it gets. I think the world of him — and now we both have one T."

Feeling Better

Derrick Favors missed Monday's game with flu-like symptoms but ended up watching part of the game against the Nuggets on television.

"I watched the second half," he said. "Because when I got home I was laying down, in and out of it. I got up and saw the second half. … I saw the good part."

The Jazz went 0-9 in games without Favors last year and are 0-1 without him now this year. But the Jazz big man was back at practice Tuesday and said he believes he'll be ready to play Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.

Recalled

The Jazz are bringing back combo guard Toure' Murry from the D-League. In six games with Idaho, Murray averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2.3 steals.

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz