Murray received the technical foul from referee Tony Brothers, reportedly for not answering him as the Hawks guard was sitting on the bench during a stoppage in the fourth quarter of the game. Brothers were spotted talking about what had transpired with Trae Young.
Murray responded on social media to the technical.
“It’s unbelievable that there wasn’t anything to talk about,” Murray wrote on March 2 on X, a platform that was originally Twitter.
At the very least, it seems the league agrees the call was unnecessary.
The NBA Official’s account on X said on March 3 that “Dejounte Murray’s (ATL) technical foul at 4:16 of the 4th qtr on 3/2/24 has been rescinded upon league office review.”
Murray recorded 20 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block in the game’s conclusion. In the third quarter, he had trouble from the field, going just 1 for 5 from there.
But in the fourth, he recovered, making three of his five looks fall.
It’s not quite apparent what prompted the call. However, it happened at a particularly cruel moment for the Hawks, who, with 6:10 remaining in the game, had used a successful and-1 attempt by Saddiq Bey to trim a 15-point Nets advantage back down to 10 points at 100-90.
Nic Claxton restored the Nets’ 12-point lead. Then, Mikal Bridges missed a technical free shot that was intended for D’Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic had consecutive passes intercepted.
The missing traveling call on Cam Johnson was perhaps the cherry on top.
The play, which resulted in a three-pointer from former Hawk Dennis Schroder, gave the Nets a 17-point advantage while Brothers was standing just in front of it. After the play, Brothers was spotted attempting in vain to speak with Murray.
Dejounte Murray was fined in the Hawks’ defeat for abiding by the rules.
In a league where players receive technical fouls simply for showing up, Brothers’ performance was the complete opposite.
There didn’t seem to be any disparaging words spoken by Brothers after Murray and the technical penalty. Out of annoyance, players are also frequently advised to leave rather than interact with the referees.
It is commendable that the league acted quickly.
The fact that the basketball itself is being diminished by the players’ and referees’ interaction is not ideal.
The NBA’s daily Last 2-Minute Reports, which appear to highlight many missed calls every night, plus the nightly blown calls that spectators witness firsthand indicate that much too much attention is being paid to the administrative aspect of what is meant to be a fast-paced game.
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