We were waiting for Trae Young, as on each of his (stormy) visits to Madison Square Garden, and it’s finally Dejounte Murray who stole the show! Flagship rookie of the summer in Atlanta, the former Spurs point guard squarely signs his career high with 36 points, but as usual, he blackened all the columns of the stats sheet: 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 6 interceptions, 1 block and 3 loose balls. On the address side: 14 out of 27 on shots including 5 out of 12 from 3-pointers. Worthy of… Trae Young!
“I found DJ incredible” summarizes Nate McMillan. “He knew he had to raise his level of play as Trae was out. He found his rhythm, and basically we followed him in the 3rd and 4th quarter.
In fact, Dejounte Murray had already stood out at the end of the first half by stealing several balls. He is the one who stops the bleeding with his active hands, and it is above all he who restores the confidence of his teammates, who were trailing by… 23 points!
“We had a great game plan”
“I am a confident player, and I say that in a very humble way” reacts Dejounte Murray. “But I’m working really hard on my game. Trae’s exit forced me to step it up a notch and bring the guys back together even more. »
Long before the exit of Trae Young, hit in the eye, Dejounte Murray had shown the way to his teammates. The passage in the Hawks zone breaks the rhythm of the Knicks and above all allows Dejounte Murray to interfere with ball transmissions, and therefore to steal balloons. He planted 18 points in the 2nd quarter! It is him in the 3rd quarter who still sets the tone in defense, and the Knicks are limited to 10 small points…
“I study the game, I have a great staff and teammates who believe in me” he continues. “Every night I just try to get a new idea of this new system, and I try to find solutions on both sides of the pitch. In the second half, we didn’t want to relive what we had experienced in Toronto. We had a great game plan, and individually and collectively, we were good.
| Dejounte Murray | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | SAN | 38 | 9 | 43.1 | 39.1 | 70.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| 2017-18 | SAN | 81 | 22 | 44.3 | 26.5 | 70.9 | 1.4 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 66 | 26 | 46.2 | 36.9 | 79.8 | 1.1 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 10.9 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 67 | 32 | 45.3 | 31.7 | 79.1 | 0.9 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 15.7 |
| 2021-22 | SAN | 68 | 35 | 46.2 | 32.7 | 79.4 | 1.2 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 9.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 21.2 |
| 2022-23 | ATL | 7 | 36 | 45.5 | 40.0 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 7.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| Total | 327 | 26 | 45.5 | 33.3 | 77.4 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 12.6 | |
