Dejounte Murray doesn't think he should have been suspended for flare up during Celtics-Hawks Game 4
Dejounte Murray approached and bumped referee Gediminas Petraitis after the final buzzer in a Game 4 defeat to the Boston Celtics, continuing to rant at the official while being held back by his teammates and the Hawks' coaching staff.
Murray spoke with the media at the morning shootaround before Game 5 to discuss the NBA's decision to suspend him for one game following his incident with the referee.
"Whatever happened, happened," Murray said. "I just feel like we all should be held accountable from players, coaches, even the referees. It shouldn't be one-sided. It should be fair. Like I said, we all should be held accountable. At the end of the day, I'm suspended and it is what it is."
In Game 4 however, some fans are criticizing the NBA's decision to be one-sided as Jayson Tatum did not receive the same treatment, wherein, he was seen moving a referee out of the way in frustration from the dangerous foul committed by Trae Young.
However, the NBA didn't deem it as anything amounting to a violation or suspension as Tatum looked to be getting up immediately out of heated energy to cool himself down away from any altercation.
In a pivotal Game 5 with the Celtics having home-court advantage, the Atlanta Hawks will be without the services of Dejounte Murray, who happens to be one of the most versatile players on the roster as he plays at both ends of the floor.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder also gave his perspective following Murray's one-game suspension.
"Dejounte recognizes his part in the situation," Snyder said. "That's just not something you can do. 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."
For Quin Snyder, the team needs to get every kind of contribution it can get from the rest of the team outside of Trae Young as they face Boston on the road.
Dejounte Murray stats in first-round series against the Boston Celtics
Even on the brink of elimination as the Atlanta Hawks are down 3-1, Dejounte Murray has still managed to put up incredible numbers in the series against the Celtics.
Murray is averaging 25.3 points on 45.6% shooting, including 39.4% from three-point range, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals.
In a pivotal Game 3, he dropped 23 points on 9-20 shooting, including 4-8 from three-point range. Dejounte Murray even knocked down a dagger three-pointer from the corner spot with the Celtics' Derrick White all over him to put his team up by 6 points with the shot clock running down.
His absence in Game 4 will be missed as De'Andre Hunter will look to take up Murray's offensive load to support Trae Young.