NBA
WATCH: The NBA is investigating an incident involving Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray bumping into an official after Game 4
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated24 Apr 2023
The Boston Celtics won Game 4 vs the Atlanta Hawks, 129-121 last night, and took a 3-1 series lead. Hawks’ all-star SG Dejounte Murray had 23 points last night and the league is investigating his actions toward an official at the end of the game. There is a clear video of Murray bumping into an official and then still having some choice words after that. It will be up to the league to determine whether it was “intentional” or not.
Dejounte Murray was unavailable to speak to the media after last night’s Game 4 loss to the Boston Celtics. In situations like this, the league usually makes a decision before the next game in the series. Boston and Atlanta will play Game 5 tomorrow night at 7:30 pm EST.
NBA betting sites have the Celtics at (-720) to win Game 5 tomorrow night vs the Hawks.
Dejounte Murray appeared to say something to a ref after the Hawks’ Game 4 loss.
(via @creatorjordan23) pic.twitter.com/2KdiRpZqed
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 24, 2023
Will Dejounte Murray be available for Game 5 tomorrow night vs the Boston Celtics?
In the clip above, Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray made contact with NBA official Gediminas Petraitis as the Hawks’ guard was walking off the court. Murray then pointed back and had something else to say before his teammates and coaches got him to go into the locker room. It’s unclear whether the contact Murray made was “intentional” and the league will have to make that ruling.
Boston’s Grant Williams was suspended one game earlier in the season for making contact with a referee. Murray could face a suspension for Game 5 and the Hawks would be down a player who’s averaging 25/7/6 in this series. NBA media members have had varying takes on this situation.
The NBA is investigating Dejounte Murray's actions following Sunday's Game 4 after he appeared to intentionally bump an official while exiting the court, per @TimBontemps
More here: https://t.co/9zP9ymjZBg pic.twitter.com/dvsy8Rd5bU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2023
Not every player that makes contact with an official is automatically suspended. The rulebook said “circumstances” can dictate if the player gets suspended for one game or longer, or possibly receive a fine instead. In the 2021-22 season, while still with the Spurs, Dejounte Murray was fined $20,000 and ejected for throwing a game ball off the legs of an official. The league could certainly take that into account when they make their decision about his Game 4 incident.
