In the aftermath of the Atlanta Hawks' 129-121 home loss to the Boston Celtics – giving the Celtics a 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series as the teams head back to Boston – video has surfaced of Hawks guard Dejounte Murray appearing to make contact with referee Gediminas Petraitis as Murray was making his way off the court. A league source confirmed that the NBA will take a look at the situation and any discipline levied against Murray would be announced before Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Video shot from the stands shows Murray approach Petraitis from across the court as the final seconds of regulation tick off the clock. Murray can be seen looking directly at Petraitis then bumped his chest into the refs right shoulder as the game ended. It appears that Petraitis didn’t see Murray heading in his direction but after the contact, he turned around and stared at Murray as the Hawks guard walked away with his back to the referee and headed towards the tunnel.
Murray then turned around and pointed toward the opposite side of the court while appearing to say something before being restrained by members of the Hawks staff and being led back toward the tunnel. Murray was not available for postgame interviews so he has yet to comment on the incident.
The decision on if the league will act on the contact between Murray and the referee will likely hinge on whether or not it is deemed “intentional.” It would appear from the video that the contact was intentional as Murray makes it a point to lean into the referee and seems to have some words for him as well. According to the NBA rulebook, “any player or coach guilty of intentional physical contact with an official shall automatically be suspended without pay for one game.”
Murray finished the game with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes. He has averaged 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals through the first four games of the series. If Murray faces a suspension, the Hawks will be without one of their top scorers as they battle to extend their postseason journey during a win-or-go home Game 5 on Tuesday night in the Garden.