Getty Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks reacts to a call during the second half against the Houston Rockets.
The Boston Celtics have certainly made the most of their home-court advantage in this year’s quarterfinals series, as they now find themselves leading the seventh-seeded Atlanta Hawks 2-0 with Tuesday night’s win.
While Game 2 was far from a tightly contested outing, as Joe Mazzulla‘s club attained the lead late in the first period and never gave it back from then on out, Dejounte Murray displayed the brand of energy that is generally seen in far more competitive bouts.
After making a few 3-pointers mid-way through the third, the Hawks star was seen chirping at Boston’s head coach on the sidelines. When asked during his post-game media session what, in specific, Murray said to him, Mazzulla gave a rather sarcastic answer.
“He was talking to me. He just asked how my day was going. He’s a great kid. I’ve gotten to know him from the people through the Spurs organization.”
Despite the fact that Atlanta lost 119-109 to the Celtics, Dejounte Murray had himself a phenomenal showing in Game 2.
In just shy of 40 minutes played, the point guard dropped a team-high 29 points while adding 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shot 53.8% from distance.
Jayson Tatum Praises Derrick White After Celtics Win
Joe Mazzulla once again opted to go small with his starting unit by running a dual point guard lineup consisting of typical bench option Derrick White. As a result, the Celtics went on to win their second straight game this postseason with the sixth-year veteran leading the charge.
Proving to be a two-way menace throughout his 33 minutes of action, White’s play went on to receive an ample amount of praise from Boston’s faithful followers, as they were even heard chanting “MVP” in his direction.
C’s star forward Jayson Tatum discussed the love for his teammate shown from the TD Garden crowd during his post-game media session and deemed him as being a “big, big reason” why they find themselves up 2-0 in this best-of-seven series against Atlanta.
“I mean, s***, I was happy for him,” Jayson Tatum said. “He’s been playing his a** off these last two games. Obviously, a big, big reason why we’ve won these last two games. We need him to continue to play at this level, and he can. So, I was happy to hear that. We talked about it after the game. He was like, ‘That’s what it feels like?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”
“I was happy to hear that for him. We talked about it after the game, he was like ‘that’s what it feel like?'”
Jayson Tatum on Derrick White’s reaction to the M-V-P chants during Game 2 🤣
Derrick White would finish the night with a stellar all-around stat line of 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal while shooting 68.8% from the floor and 40.0% from deep.
Celtics Malcolm Brogdon Sounds Off on Being 6MOY Finalist
In his first year as a member of the Boston Celtics, Malcolm Brogdon seamlessly transitioned from serving as a legitimate franchise point guard to a top-flight reserve. As a result, the seventh-year veteran has officially been named a finalist in the Sixth Man of the Year voting race.
During an April 17 practice day press conference, the point guard discussed his feelings on being a candidate for the illustrious award and shed light on why he believes his teammates have had an impact on his high-end play in 2022-23.
“As I’ve said before, these are team awards. It takes a team to get an All-NBA, to get an All-Star, to get a sixth man, defensive player. So that’d be great for our organization.”
Brogdon would also go on to note that it’s “awesome to be mentioned” in this specific awards chase alongside his fellow nominees in Milwaukee Bucks big Bobby Portis and New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, the latter of whom is viewed as the Celtics veteran’s main competitor for the honor.
Through 67 games played this season, the 30-year-old finished off with averages of 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 44.4% from deep.