Aside from coming up short in a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday night against the Celtics, the Hawks lost another battle right after the game. Dejounte Murray, who was clearly displeased with the officiating the entire game, bumped an official soon after the fourth quarter horn sounded. He’s now been suspended by the NBA for one game, which means he will not be apart of the team’s efforts in Boston as they hope to save their season.
Dejounte Murray officially suspended for Game 5 for bumping a ref. #Hawks pic.twitter.com/pdUMjg4kAY
— Miles Garrett (@MilesGarrettTV) April 24, 2023
It’s pretty weak for a player to miss such an important game for something so minor, but in the same breath, making any kind of contact with an official is a no-no in all professional sports. Murray has to keep his cool in that scenario, and now the Hawks will be without arguably their best player so far in this series with their season on the line.
https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1650611024242913281
The Hawks were already set to face a mountain of a challenge having to win in Boston, something that’s almost impossible to do in the NBA playoffs. Now, they will be without Dejounte Murray, who has unquestionably been Atlanta’s most reliable player in this series. Over the four games, he’s averaging 25.3 points on 45.6% from the field and 39.4% from deep while adding 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals.
It was going to be incredibly difficult for the Hawks to win anyways, but it at least would have been nice for them to go out on their shield at full strength. This has a chance to be a very frustrating end to the season, which seems fitting given everything that has transpired since the start.
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Photographer: Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
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