Dejounte Murray feels responsible for the Atlanta Hawks’ 108-107 loss against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, the sixth-year guard made his point clear on Twitter.
The 26-year-old tweeted: “Dejounte makes both free throws and we go to OT and it’s OK to call a timeout!!! That S — not on me and Nate, easy as that!!!!!!”
Based on a few NBA betting sites, the Hawks have the 16th-best odds to win the championship in 2023. Several sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
* Dejounte makes both free throws and we go to OT and it’s OK to call a timeout!!! That’s not easy on me and Nate like that!!!!!! https://t.co/XGUtzGDP2e
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) December 29, 2022
Atlanta fans threw Hawks coach Nate McMillan under the bus for not calling a timeout in the final six seconds. Of course, the team featured leading scorer Trae Young, rookie D’Andre Hunter and returning leader Clint Capela.
“I saw some of our guys fighting,” McMillan said after the loss. You can live with that. I thought we played from start to finish. We didn’t think about the men who left. The guys who were playing came out and played to win.”
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray believes he should take more of the blame for the Nets’ loss than coach Nate McMillan.
Murray finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 40 minutes. He shot 10-of-26 (38.5%) from the floor and knocked down one 3-pointer.
Additionally, Murray missed a layup from the baseline with 50.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter. And the guard missed a 27-footer with 0.1 seconds left.
The former Spur made one of his two free throws with less than 30 seconds left. But a combination of factors led to this loss, especially injuries. Macmillan decided not to use a timeout because he wanted to “catch them in transition”.
Nate McMillan choosing not to call timeout #hawk v net game
Wanting to keep Brooklyn from getting up on defense, he let his men go. @11AliveNews pic.twitter.com/NE9imjeWal
– Reggie Chatman Jr. (@ReggieChatman) December 29, 2022
Without Young, Hunter and Capela, the Hawks were fortunate to lose by just one point. Having said that, a loss is still a loss. Atlanta outshot the Nets 60-50 in the paint and had a 15-point lead at one point. The team missed a lot of baskets though. The Hawks shot 42-of-97 (43.3%) from the field.
Atlanta has now lost three of its four games.
Nets guard Kyrie Irving scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant also finished with 26 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. Brooklyn is on a 10-game winning streak since winning 10 straight in the 2005-06 season.
In 30 starts this season, Murray is averaging 20.5 points, 5.3 boards, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. To add to those stats, he shot 44.6% from the field and 34.7% from beyond the arc.
