Hawks' Dejounte Murray on taking 44 shots: 'Kobe would be proud of me'
Dejounte Murray willed the Hawks to an improbable overtime win over the Celtics on Thursday night.
With his undermanned Atlanta squad going up against the Boston juggernaut, Murray took a whopping 44 shots to match his points tally of 44, which included a go-ahead bucket with 0.1 seconds left to ice the game.
Murray's volume shooting and clutch performance were reminiscent of the late Kobe Bryant, who holds the record for most field goals attempted (50) in a game besides three other times he took over 45 shots.
By jacking 44 shots, Murray tied for the seventh most in an NBA game since 1984 (when tracking became available) and the most since Russell Westbrook in Oct. 2016.
After the game, Murray admitted he didn't want to take 44 shots but did so because his team needed him.
"I still feel like I played awful," Murray said. "I don't want to take that many shots. But I know Kobe would be proud of me. End of the day, we competed at a high level and we got a great team win."
Incidentally, Bryant also holds the record for shot attempts in a game against the Celtics. "The Black Mamba" set that record in Nov. 2002 when he attempted 47 shots against the C's in a losing effort.
On an unrelated note, March 28 also marked the last time Bryant went head-to-head against his idol, Michael Jordan, during the latter's last season with the Wizards in 2003.
Mavs guard Kyrie Irving was spotted in a special pair of sweatpants during Thursday's practice session to commemorate the anniversary.
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