The NBA has punished Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray for bumping a referee after the team’s loss in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against Boston.
Murray has been suspended for Game 5 against the Celtics, the NBA announced Monday. The Hawks guard was suspended for “making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official.”
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/6IEAnN4Mzj
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 24, 2023
Video from the end of Sunday’s game showed Murray approaching referee Gediminas Petraitis, leaning in toward him, and bumping him. The Hawks guard actually had to be held back afterwards as well as he was leaving the floor.
While it is not clear what Murray said or what he was so upset about, the NBA has a zero-tolerance policy toward making contact with game officials. The suspension comes as no surprise, and will leave the Hawks significantly shorthanded as they try to fend off elimination in Game 5 in Boston on Tuesday.
