Hawks' Dejounte Murray Talks Suspension: 'A Lot That Led Up to' Bumping Referee

Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray said a longstanding issue with referee Gediminas Petraitis led to the altercation following Game 4's loss to the Boston Celtics.

Murray was suspended one game for bumping into Petraitis after the game.

"I'm a grown man, and I hold my own and I take full responsibility for not being able to play for my teammates, and the fans and just the organization as a whole," Murray told reporters Tuesday. "But at the end of the day, there's a lot that led up to that, and I think a lot of players could relate to those frustrations."

Murray, who spent this first five NBA seasons with the Spurs, said Petraitis had a habit of being dismissive and disrespectful to him and other teammates in San Antonio.

"A lot of ignoring, a lot of brushing me off, brushing my teammates off when asking questions of how we could be better," Murray said. "And even just with that individual, it goes back to San Antonio, where, I don't know why that person treated me the way he treated me over the years."

Murray added that he has a good relationship with "98 percent" of refs around the league. However, he said he's been unable to reach the same level of mutual respect with Petraitis, which led to tensions boiling over after a close Game 4 loss.

Murray averaged 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals over the first four games of the series. The Celtics can wrap things up in five games with Murray on the sideline Tuesday night.