Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson Nearly Record Triple-Doubles as Atlanta Defeats Orlando 109-92

The Hawks are back on the court this Tuesday against the Utah Jazz

While the big news coming into tonight's game vs the Orlando Magic was around the Trae Young injury announcement today, but there was still a game to be played at State Farm Arena. 

The Atlanta Hawks hosted the Orlando Magic tonight hoping to snap its three-game losing streak and win the season series against their division rival. 

The Hawks were not the only team that was going to be without its best player. Orlando was missing second-year forward Paolo Banchero and guard Gary Harris on the second night of a back-to-back. Still, the Hawks had Dejounte Murray and Orlando had Franz Wagner so there was still firepower on both sides coming into tonight. 

With Young out, it was assumed that Bogdan Bogdanovic would be in the starting lineup tonight and that was the case. Bogdanovic started alongside Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela. 

The first five on the floor for Orlando were Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr, and Goga Bitadze. 

The first quarter was a good indicator of how the first half of the game would play out. Neither team could get anything going on offense, but Wagner was the guy making it happen for the Magic, scoring 12 points in the quarter, over half of Orlando's total points in the quarter. 

The Hawks went with a nine-man rotation tonight and among those nine players was rookie first-round pick Kobe Bufkin. With the announcement of Young's injury today, Bufkin could be in line for some major minutes over the next few weeks. 

Garrison Matthews, Bruno Fernando, Bufkin, and De'Andre Hunter were the Hawks guys off the bench tonight. 

The Magic led 22-19 after the first quarter. 

The second quarter was marginally better for both teams offensively, but only by a little. 

After going scoreless in the first quarter, Johnson finally started to find his way on offense and was attacking in transition and in the paint. He would have seven points for the Hawks in the quarter. 

In an earlier matchup this season, Magic backup forward Caleb Houstan shot the ball well vs the Hawks and he was 4-5 from three in the second quarter, scoring 12 points. Orlando led 51-45 after the first half. 

Atlanta shot 38% from the field and 29% from three in the first half with Murray leading the way with nine points, seven assists, and five rebounds. He will be leading the offense for the next month with Young out and the Hawks are going to be very reliant on him. 

Orlando shot 44% from the field and 40% from three in the first half. Franz Wagner had 14 points and five rebounds for the Magic. 

The third quarter is where the game was won by the Hawks. 

With the Magic leading 65-63 halfway through the quarter, the Hawks went on the defining run of the game. Atlanta outscored the Magic 18-1 and seized total control of the game. They would outscore Orlando 38-19 in the quarter, and 26 of those 38 points came from Murray (16) and Johnson (10)

Hawks guard Kobe Bufkin vs the Magic / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Murray talked about what led to the run after the game: 

"Just getting great looks. Getting stops on the defensive end which led to offense, which I think is the best offense when you get stops and can get out and run and get great looks and I think that is what it was and shots fell for us and we closed out a great quarter and we got a great team win."

Dejounte is cooking. 🍳 pic.twitter.com/BcY8H3148e

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 26, 2024

Despite faltering a little bit towards the end of the game, the Hawks held on to win by 17 points, 109-92. They snapped their three-game losing streak and won the season series against Orlando. 

It was a huge night for Murray and Johnson, who both flirted with triple-doubles. Murray finished with 25 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds, while Johnson had 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. De'Andre Hunter (18 points) and Bogdanovic (17 points) had nice nights as well. 

Bufkin played close to 11 minutes, scored two points and had a nice night on defense. 

He got more praise from Snyder after the game: 

"I will say it again, the job that Ryan Schmidt is doing in the G-League, we have so much confidence that when our guys play there, they are getting better. There is still this tendency from everyone to think of that as some sort of... banishment. When you get the first pick in the MLB draft, you don't go right to the Major Leagues. They work their way in, does not matter if they throw 105 MPH, you learn how to pitch. Particularly for a guard, in Kobe's case, a guy that has been a combo in a lot of ways, to have the ball in his hands and when he is playing with, he is playing a little bit differently in College Park then he is here, trying to find that fell and that pass you mentioned and the shot, he did not make the one against the zone, they went under him and I told him good shot because I believe he can make that. 

But the biggest thing is the way he defended and that is real, that is consistent and we know you can do that and that is why we have those absolutes and those things we can do whether we are tired or whatever the case might be. He moved his feet a couple of times, he recovered and he got his chest in front and he was able to make some plays too because he was in position."

Atlanta shot 46% from the field and 41% from three in the game. In the second half, Atlanta shot 53% from the field and 58% from three. 

This was a good win for the short-handed Hawks and they will hope to get another one on Tuesday when they face the Utah Jazz, which will be the first time that former Hawks forward John Collins will play in Atlanta. 

Evaluating What Trae Young's Injury Means for the Atlanta Hawks

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