The Atlanta Hawks got a surprise victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in a back and forth overtime battle. They got the win without Trae Young in the lineup, meaning Dejounte Murray had to carry the bulk of the offensive load. And the one-time Los Angeles Lakers trade target took that in stride, channeling his inner Kobe Bryant to the tune of 44 points on 18-for-44 from the field and 6-for-19 from beyond the arc, including the game-winner.
It was an impressive overall performance from Murray, and while the field goal attempt numbers are jarring, it can easily be argued that the Hawks needed every bit of that from their All-Star guard. Just like the Lakers needed that type of performance from Bryant many times over his 20-year NBA career.
After the game, Murray spoke about his 44 shots and the game-winner, joking that Bryant would be proud if he could see his effort from Thursday night, via Bleacher Report:
"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 pic.twitter.com/q9Bglzb5zR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 29, 2024
Murray then took to social media himself after the game to again shout out Bryant, with an additional nod to former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook:
???????????????????????????? Shoutout RUSS AND KOBE!!!! I’m Tired Dawg!!!! https://t.co/mpP0BC3NqH
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) March 29, 2024
Murray was tied to the Lakers via trade rumors for a large chunk of the 2023-24 season, and will likely be connected again this offseason. And shouting out Bryant, and even Westbrook, after a performance like that shows that the Lakers are on his mind.
Bryant was certainly known for his outings with significant numbers of shot attempts, but he — like Murray — only did so when he was called upon by his team to do that. The Hawks needed every bit of Murray’s shooting on Thursday.
LeBron James was in support of trading for Dejounte Murray
In a typical post trade deadline rumor mill, it was revealed that Lakers superstar LeBron James was in support of the team making a deal that would have sent D’Angelo Russell away and brought in Murray. At the time, there were no details as to the exact trade that would have happened between L.A. and Atlanta, but James wanted Murray to join the Lakers if possible.
The Lakers, though, may be setting their sights on the other Hawks guard this offseason when they have more draft capital available.
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