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Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray is suspended for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Boston Celtics.
The league officials announced Monday that Murray has been suspended one game without pay for making contact with and verbally abusing an official at the end of Game 4 of the Hawks’ 129-121 loss to the Celtics.
The Atlanta Hawks are in a deep hole as they are down 3 games to 1 in the opening round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. They are going to Boston which may be the last game of the season as the Celtics are a huge favorite to get the job done tonight and advance to the second round where they will meet the Philadelphia 76ers.
What actually happened?
At the end of Game 4, Murray made contact with referee Gediminas Petraitis as he was walking off the court. Following that, he then turned back and pointed and yelled at someone before exiting the court. Murray had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 40 minutes and was one of the best players on the Hawks team.
Murray did not speak to the media after the game and his story of what happened has not been heard. Hawks head coach Quinn Snyder addressed the media following the incident.
“Dejounte recognizes his part in the situation. That’s just not something you can do,” Snyder said. “You’d have to ask him directly as far as what had transpired previously. I think there was frustration over the course of the game that built up, and he didn’t handle it the way that he needs to. He knows that. We talked about it.”
The league has zero tolerance for any contact made with an official. Murray had no communication with the referees out of the usual during the game and is still unclear whether he made the contact on purpose or not.
What does this mean for the Hawks?
The Hawks managed to win Game 3 of the series against the Celtics shooting 56% from the field. It is clear that they cannot be that impressive every single night, and now they are going to Boston with their backs against the wall. The Celtics have a 3-1 lead and full control of the series.
Murray was one of the key players on the Hawks team. He is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals through four games in this series for the Hawks. He had a key role on the defensive end trying to stop Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and his absence in Game 5 would be a major hit for the Hawks.
Quinn Snyder did not make clear who will start in Murray’s place but that will probably be Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Serbian shooter had a starting role before going down with an injury in the regular season. He averaged 14 points per game during the regular season and 12.5 in the Playoffs. Bogdanovic is the best shooter on the Hawks team in the Playoffs as he is shooting 47.8% from deep.
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