Dejounte Murray took 44 shots to score 44 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics for the second time this week, this time because of an OT game-winner by Dejounte. Murray reacted to the performance, claiming Kobe Bryant would be proud of him.
“I feel like I played awful. I don’t want to take that many shots, but I know Kobe would be proud of me. At the end of the day, we competed to the very end at a very high level and got a great team win.”
"I don't want to take that many shots, but I know Kobe would be proud of me."
Dejounte Murray after shooting 18-44 FG https://t.co/q9Bglzb5zR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 29, 2024
Dejounte also sent a message on his X account, shouting out Kobe and Russell Westbrook for similar performances in the past.
“Shout out to Russ and Kobe!!!! I’m tired dawg!!!!”
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Shoutout RUSS AND KOBE!!!! I’m Tired Dawg!!!! https://t.co/mpP0BC3NqH
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) March 29, 2024
We know for a fact Kobe would be happy to see a performance like this. He never cared to stat pad for efficiency and took shots as and when he needed to lead the Lakers to wins. We have an old Kobe tweet that reflects this belief as well.
#StopIt pic.twitter.com/pPRO8BnF4P
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 13, 2015
Many people on social media have been quick to hate on Dejounte’s performance because of his inefficiency. He scored 44 points on 18-44 shooting, which is pretty bad, and even Murray admitted the same.
The result is what matters. Dejounte was not phased by the shots he missed and continued trying to get buckets. That led to his game-winner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.
DEJOUNTE MURRAY CALLS GAME 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/ydfAiuppfq
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 29, 2024
This game has minimal repercussions on the Eastern Conference standings, as the Hawks are unlikely to move out of the No. 10 seed and the Celtics have already sealed the No. 1 seed in the East.
The fact that the Celtics have lost to the Hawks without Trae Young twice in the same week is a concerning sign for a team that should be runaway championship favorites.
Should The Celtics Be Worried?
No team in the NBA has ever gone 82-0, so even the best teams ever will lose games here and there. The Celtics have a record of 57-16 this season, by far the best record in the NBA. As of now, they are the championship favorites along with the Denver Nuggets, with the Celtics expected to make it to the NBA Finals easily due to the lack of competition in the East.
All top contenders in the East have glaring holes that put them clearly behind the Celtics in the conference pecking order. The Bucks are inconsistent, the Knicks, 76ers, and Cavaliers are injured, while the Magic and Pacers are too young.
The Miami Heat may be the last option left for a team to beat Boston, but the talent gap between the teams has increased with the positive additions Boston made in the summer compared to the Heat. Matchup-wise, the only East team that could scare the Celtics is the Heat, but they have a myriad of issues that we can’t bet will be solved in the next few weeks.
The East might be an easier challenge for the Celtics, but losses like the two against the Hawks this week show how vulnerable they can be.
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