Dejounte Murray scores 41 as Hawks earn third straight win

Murray did have Snyder and the Hawks from the beginning of the game, where he scored 12 of the team’s first 20 points. The offense did not fare too well without Murray when he went to the bench, with the Grizzlies extending their lead to 14 points before he returned to the game in the second quarter.

He would then play the entire third quarter, taking just a three-minute breather before finishing the game with 41 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. He tied his season-high with the six threes.

“I just took what the game gave to me and I made shots tonight,” Murray said. “It’s always great to make shots but I think the better part is playing together and your teammates looking for you and you are looking for them and trying to make the right play.”

2. Hawks center Clint Capela made the right play when the Hawks needed a stop with 21 seconds to play. He picked up Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson at the top of the key. Jackson drove into the paint but Capela kept him in front as he tried to turn the corner.

With Capela’s body blocking a look at the basket, Jackson had to keep turning to try and hit the shot with his right hand. But Jackson’s hook shot hit the front of the rim, his eighth missed field goal in the second half.

Jackson ended the night 8-of-19 from the floor after the Hawks adjusted following his explosive first half. The Grizzlies center made 7-of-11 buckets in the opening half and got his team on the board first with three free throws after drawing a foul off Capela 14 seconds into the game. Jackson scored 21.

“Most of it was, was mental. I think I got caught a surprise at the beginning,” Capela said. “At halftime I gathered my thoughts and I just figured it out.”

3. Capela’s defense at the end just put an exclamation point on the team’s collective effort to hold the Grizzlies under 100 points. It’s the fifth time in seven games that the Hawks have held an opponent to 101 or fewer points. It’s the third time in that time frame that they have given up under 100 points.

“I thought we got shifted even more,” Snyder said. “We were in good position. So really a team effort defensively. And that was, obviously really important, especially late. I thought we got stops late. Gave us opportunities to get a little cushion.”

4. The Hawks started forward Vit Krejci in the absence of Jalen Johnson, who is day to day with an ankle sprain.

Krejci gave the Hawks size and intensity on the wing, matching up against some of the Grizzlies’ bigger perimeter players. He attacked his defensive assignments, driving players into traps on the baseline that allowed the Hawks’ bigs to pick them off.

Krejci also gave the Hawks playmaking, finding Garrison Mathews for a corner 3, then Capela for a few looks at the rim.

“It was just a game plan today, really,” Krejci said. We knew they were going to be packed in the paint and they’re going to shift hard. So for us it was just really, get to the paint and have eyes out and it’s kind of perfect for my game.”

5. Both teams toughed out the night, dealing with significant injuries to their lineups.

The Hawks did not have star guard Trae Young, who has headed to the West Coast with the team’s upper extremity specialist to rehab following surgery to repair a torn ligament in a finger on his left hand.

Between both teams, 14 key rotational players missed the matchup.

Stat to know

3 - On his fourth triple of the game, Dejounte Murray passed Josh Smith (267) for the 19th-most made 3-pointers in Hawks history.

Quotable

“Big time, big time. We’re trying to make the guard’s job easier as they make ours too and CC (Clint Capela) making a big play. That was CC being CC. So, we’re just gonna roll with it. We got the win and we’re gonna take that one.” -- Bruno Fernando on the teamwork of the centers.

Up next

The Hawks return to State Farm Arena to host the Pelicans on Sunday.