Trae Young Gives Honest Statement About Facing Dejounte Murray For The First Time Since He Was Traded

Murray played his first game back in Atlanta last night since the trade this summer that sent him to New Orleans

Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) and New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) on the court in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Last night's game between the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Pelicans was not one that most NBA fans labeled as a must watch, but it was the first time since being traded in the summer that Dejounte Murray faced his former team in Atlanta. This was the main storyline of the evening and after the game, Trae Young gave his honest thoughts about facing Murray for the first time since the trade happened in the summer:

"Yeah, I mean, Dejounte, I'd say he's a really good friend. So it was a different playing against him tonight. Obviously, we played together for the last two years. He's just getting back from injury, and obviously he didn't play a really good game tonight. We knew he was a vocal point for the team, so we tried to make it as tough as possible for him, and we did a good job on him. But I mean, obviously, I want him to play good every night besides the nights he plays us. Especially him being in the West ut does not really affect us as much so we've still been communicating behind the scenes every now and then. We both check up on each other. But I'm glad we got this one. I know he's been hurt."

Murray was the vocal point of the Pelicans offense tonight, but he had a tough night shooting the ball, going 2-15 from the floor and 1-7 from three. Aside from CJ McCollum (29 points) and rookie Yves Missi (21 points and 10 rebounds), New Orleans could not find any consistent offense.

It says a lot about this team that Trae Young can go 5-16 from the floor and the team still win and shoot over 50% from the floor. Young finished with 12 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds and was a team high +20 when on the floor. Young has been more of a facilitator this year and this game was a great example.

This four-game winning streak would not be possible without the play of De'Andre Hunter and he continued that tonight. Hunter came off the bench to score 22 points and shoot 4-7 from three. Atlanta is undefeated this year when he scores 20 points. The bench for the Hawks has been awesome during this win streak and Hunter is the biggest reason why. Atlanta's bench outscored the New Orleans bench 52-29.

The Hawks got one of the best games of the year from Clint Capela, especially on the glass. Capela grabbed 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. He was strong defensively as well.

Jalen Johnson continues to make a case to be an All-Star. He scored 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on 9-14 shooting.

Dyson Daniels had one of his most complete games of the year. He was a big hinderance on defense to Dejounte Murray in his return to Atlanta and he scored 19 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor.

Additional Links:

Atlanta Uses Strong Second Half To Defeat New Orleans 124-112 and Win Their Fourth Straight Game