NBA suspends Dejounte Murray for bumping referee forward of Celtics-Hawks elimination recreation

Dejounte Murray has been suspended by the NBA for Sport 5 of the Atlanta Hawks’ first spherical sequence with the Boston Celtics after bumping an official throughout Sport 4, the league has introduced. The Celtics have a 3-1 sequence lead on the Hawks going into Sport 5. If Atlanta loses, their season will likely be over.

Because the Celtics pulled away for a 129-121 victory in Sport 4, Murray made contact with a referee. That’s a no-no. Right here’s video of the bump that bought Murray suspended for an elimination recreation:

It is a devastating loss for Atlanta given the stakes of Sport 5. Murray has been the Hawks’ greatest participant within the sequence, averaging 25.3 factors, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and a couple of.3 steals per recreation in opposition to Boston whereas taking pictures 45.6 p.c from the sector and 39.4 p.c from three.

The primary spherical of the 2023 NBA Playoffs have been filled with controversy to this point. Murray will get the second suspension of the postseason after the NBA suspended Draymond Inexperienced for Sport 3 of the Warriors-Kings sequence after he stomped on Domantas Sabonis’ chest. These playoffs have already seen James Harden get ejected for pushing off a defender on a drive, and Dillon Brooks get ejected for hitting LeBron James between the legs. Neither have been suspended, however Murray will likely be.

Atlanta followers have been fast to level out that Boston star Jayson Tatum additionally made contact with a ref in Sport 4:

Murray’s season may be over with this Sport 5 suspension. It’s not how he needed to exit in his first yr in Atlanta.