The Hawks kicked off the 2024-25 campaign with a win over the Nets, in which Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu led the way for Atlanta.
Atlanta’s superstar point guard opened up the season with a casual 30 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds. While Okongwu added 28 points, going nearly perfect from the field with eight boards and three blocks.
Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher had quieter nights, but both flashed the kind of potential that should excite Hawks fans. It wasn’t sunshine and rainbows around the Association, though.
In the Bayou, an old friend suffered a serious injury. The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray this offseason, and in his Pelicans debut, he fractured his hand. Murray had 14 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds for New Orleans before exiting the contest late in the fourth quarter.
Breaking news: DeJounte Murray has fractured his hand. 🤚 pic.twitter.com/jpZGgmnFJx
— SpursRΞPORT (@SpursReporter) October 24, 2024
In a time where Joel Embiid is sitting out season openers and has already vowed not to play in back-to-back games, Dejounte Murray is made of the right stuff.
If he can play, he’s out there. For the Hawks, Murray played in 152 out of a possible 164 games during his time in Atlanta. Even though the experiment with Trae Young didn’t work out, Dejounte Murray gave a lot to the organization.
It’s a shame that his brief tenure with the Pels is already off to a rocky start. New Orleans has already been hit hard as a whole. Murray is now out for an indefinite period of time; Zion Williamson missed the opener and is susceptible to missing chunks of the season at a time, and Jose Alverado was involved in a car crash prior to the Pelicans’ season opener.
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Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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