Dejounte Murray Suspended for Game 5 After Bumping Official
The NBA has officially suspended Dejounte Murray for bumping an official after Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
According to a statement, Murray will be suspended without pay due to making “inappropriate contact” and using “verbally abusive” language toward a league official.
With Atlanta down 3-1 in the series, the Hawks will now be without their best defender and second-leading scorer in an elimination game on Tuesday. Brutal.
You can read our original post on the NBA investigating Murray below.
The Hawks were already going to be fighting an uphill battle in Game 5 against the Celtics, but it seems things could get a lot more difficult.
After Atlanta’s 129-121 loss, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray bumped an official with his shoulder while walking off the court.
The NBA is now reportedly investigating the incident, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, and we surely can’t rule out a suspension with a pivotal do-or-die game on the line for Atlanta.
As seen in the video taken from the stands, the bump wasn’t accidental. Dejounte Murray goes out of his way walking off the court to confront referee Gediminas Petraitis. He then has some words with him and bumps him with his shoulder.
After the bump, Murray started to walk away but kept having some words with Petraitis. Shortly after Hawks players and staffers apparently pulled him away and they all left the court. There didn’t appear to be a specific incident in the game that would have sparked this confrontation.
The Hawks face elimination in Game 5 against the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday night.
