The Boston Celtics managed to take a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Atlanta Hawks last night, taking Game 4 by a score of 129-121. 

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics, each scoring 31 points and combining for 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in the win. 

Personally, I almost touched God last night but Marcus Smart had other plans. 

Smart finished with four assists on the night, crushing my +1250 parlay that would have let me eat anything but ramen noodles all week. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so ramen it is. 

Anyways, following the game, Dejounte Murray thought it would be a smart idea to bump heads with a referee as he made his way back into the tunnel. 

Dejounte Murray Bumps Heads with Referee

Not exactly the smartest thing to do with your team down 3-1 in the series.

Making contact with an official is a really bad move to make. 

“Any player or coach guilty of intentional physical contact with an official shall automatically be suspended without pay for one game.”

Seems like an automatic suspension, right? 

I mean at this point, who knows. It’s really hard to tell what gets you a one game suspension in the NBA these days and after an already wild start to the playoffs that’s included several nut shots to go along with a few kicks and technicals, it’s definitely in the realm of possibility that Murray won’t be penalized for his actions. 

Still, this seems like a layup call to make for the NBA. You can’t really go out of your way to bump heads with an official after the game is over. Did he actually mean to make contact? That is certainly up for debate but regardless, Murray did make contact and now we’ll wait for the ruling from league officials. 

If the NBA does want to suspend Murray, then they should probably look at Jayson Tatum too. In the third quarter, Tatum pushed one ref after getting fouled driving to the net while also screaming at another referee. 

Jayson Tatum Makes Contact with Referee

Bold moves by Tatum and Murray here. We’ll see how it all plays out. 

Second Round Scheduling Note 

The Sixers are currently trying to get healthy (Embiid) as they await the winner of the Hawks and Celtics series. 

If Boston vs Atlanta finishes in 5 games, the second round will begin on April 29th. 

If the series finishes in 6 or 7 games, the second round will begin on May 1st. 

Obviously, the more time off the better for the Sixers, as we all await the severity of Joel Embiid’s right knee sprain that he suffered in Game 3 against the Brooklyn Nets. 

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