Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray is under investigation by the NBA after he bumped a referee following a home playoff game loss against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported.
Murray, who dropped 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in his squad’s 129-121 loss against the Celtics, approached referee Gediminas Petraitis ahead of the sound of the final buzzer, appeared to make contact with him and exchanged words with someone as he left his home court.
Petratis, after the bump, stood in his place and stared at Murray as he walked away.
The NBA suspended Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams for one game after he made contact with a referee earlier this season.
The league’s rulebook states that “any player or coach guilty of intentional physical contact with an official shall automatically be suspended without pay for one game” and any fines and/or longer suspensions could occur “if circumstances so dictate.”
There has been at least once instance of a player avoiding a suspension after making contact with a referee in the past.
The NBA hit Detroit Pistons player Hamidou Diallo with a $20,000 fine last season after he got ejected for shoving a referee during a loss against the Celtics.
The league tends to make discipline-related decisions ahead of the next game in a playoff series, ESPN noted.
The Hawks play the Celtics again on Tuesday.
The Hawks, who are down 3-1 in the first round NBA playoff series, didn’t make Murray available to the media following the loss.
Murray was previously tossed from a game, although not suspended thereafter, when he threw a basketball and hit a referee’s legs during a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and his old team – the San Antonio Spurs – last year.
The NBA later fined him $20,000 for the incident.
HuffPost has reached out to the NBA for further comment.