Hawks' Dejounte Murray has 3-word reaction to wild finish in Lakers-Nuggets Game 2

The Atlanta Hawks hit the offseason a bit earlier than they wanted. But they are tuned into some of the games this postseason. Game 2 of the Los Angeles Lakers opening-round series against the Denver Nuggets offered plenty of excitement. 

The Nuggets completed the 20-point comeback thanks to a buzzer-beating shot by Jamal Murray. The shot drew a reaction from Hawk star Dejounte Murray.

“JAMAL MURRAY!!!!!! GAMEEEEEE,” Murray said in a since-deleted post on X on April 22.

Murray had struggled most of the night, tallying just six points on 3-for-16 shooting through three quarters of play. He scored 14 points in the final frame to finish with a 20-point, five-assist, three-rebound, two-block line.

Nothing he did on the night stood out as much as his shot over 6-foot-10 Anthony Davis, one of the game’s best defenders.

Murray and Lakers star LeBron James went bucket-for-bucket in the fourth quarter.

James scored 12 of his 26 points in the final 12 minutes on 5-for-9 shooting. He also had 12 assists, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Davis – 32/11/2/1 – could only tip his cap to Murray postgame.

“Jamal Murray made a shot," Davis told reporters postgame before putting the mic down and leaving the podium, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The Lakers are now down 0-2 in the series and have lost 10 straight to the Nuggets.

Dejounte Murray has been a closer for the Hawks

Murray is no stranger to big shots, showing strong closing chops for the Hawks since his arrival via trade ahead of the 2022-23 season. This past season, he secured a 123-122 overtime win over the Boston Celtics a signature mid-range look as time expired.

Murray was expectedly disappointed with how the season turned out. He set baseline expectations of avoiding the Play-In Tournament entirely coming into the year.

He set a clear goal for this offseason during his exit interview.

“[This season was] not enjoyable,” Murray told reporters on April 19. “A lot of ups and downs you could say. You could say a lot of good moments, bad moments. But I think if you're not going to the playoffs, it shouldn't be enjoyable. And I just you know how passionate I am, and wanting to win and willing to do whatever to win.

“I try to keep the same approach [in the offseason], especially on the basketball court. I never limit myself. I always try to continue to get better and grow as a player. And then outside of that, I want to become real like stronger. Stronger than I ever been before. 

Murray pointed to focusing even more on his nutrition to help him reach his goal of taking things to the “next level” in 2024-25.