Dejounte Murray annihilates Knicks without injured counterpart Trae Young
If fans were expecting Trae Young to torch the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, that didn’t happen. Instead, something worse happened, and that something worse is Young’s new partner in crime in the backcourt — Dejounte Murray.
The Hawks traded for the 26-year-old guard this summer in what could be a move that will haunt New York for years to come. The Knicks’ attention was on Donovan Mitchell during the offseason, but perhaps the front office should’ve paid a bit more attention to Murray’s situation with the San Antonio Spurs.
In the first half of Wednesday night’s game, it didn’t seem like New York would have to worry much about Young or Murray. The Knicks’ game plan was working, they were forcing Young to take bad shots and he started the game 2-for-12 in the first quarter. New York was able to push its lead to 23 in the second quarter, but in true Knicks fashion, that lead dissolved into only an eight-point lead at the half, 65-57.
And the third quarter is when Atlanta really kicked things into high gear, even after Young left the game with a left eye contusion.
Dejounte Murray dominated against a lifeless Knicks team in second half
It originally appeared as if Young simply got his eye poked, but after he was laying on the floor for a couple of minutes with a bleeding eye, it was evident that it was more serious. He left the court and went back to the locker room. Soon after, it was reported that Young was questionable to return with a left eye contusion.
None of that mattered to Atlanta, though. As Clyde said on the broadcast, “No Young, no problem.” The reason why the Hawks traded for Murray became painfully evident to Knicks fans in the third quarter.
In what will likely (hopefully) be the worst half that New York plays this season, Murray became the new MSG villain. In the third quarter alone, he scored 16 of his career-high 36 points and added two of his five steals. The Knicks scored a whopping 10 points in the quarter in comparison to the Hawks’ 32.
Murray didn’t allow New York to do anything on offense in the second half. He did the majority of it without Young too, who returned late in the fourth quarter wearing glasses with a severely swollen left eye. Still, Young was able to throw a no-look lob pass to Clint Capela. That’s just the kind of night that it was for the Knicks, who went on to lose, 112-99.
So, no, New York didn’t get torched by Trae Young. Atlanta didn’t need even Young. It was Dejounte Murray who stole the show and ripped away the little life that was left in Madison Square Garden in the second half. It’s clear that the Knicks have serious problems on both ends of the court, but on Wednesday, their biggest problem was Murray.
