No Trae Young, no problem: Dejounte Murray carries Atlanta Hawks past Orlando Magic

Both squads were without their best player in tonight’s game, so it was interesting to see who would step up with the absences. In this matchup, Dejounte Murray took the leadership role as he carried the Atlanta Hawks to a 109-92 victory over the Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena.

It was announced earlier today that All-Star Trae Young was going to undergo hand surgery and miss at least 4 weeks. This news came after the Hawks suffered a 3-game losing streak and is on the cusp of missing the play-in tournament. With this season looking like a failure after promising hopes, Atlanta may look to head into the offseason early and figure out what they want to do with their core.

Dejounte Murray made a statement tonight after not getting dealt during the trade deadline, as he finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Most Improved Player candidate Jalen Johnson also had a great game, ending with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic started in place of Young and he recorded 17 points, while De’Andre Hunter scored 18 points off the bench.

For the Magic, they were without star Paolo Banchero as he dealt with an illness. Franz Wagner stepped up in his absence, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Wendell Carter ended with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jalen Suggs had 14 points. Cole Anthony provided 15 points off the bench.

This win improves the Hawks to 25-32, which makes them 10th in the Eastern Conference and 3.5 games above the 11th seeded Nets for the last play-in tournament spot. Atlanta snapped their 3-game losing streak and will look to build off this win on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz.

Meanwhile, this loss drops the Magic to 32-26, which makes them 8th in the Eastern Conference. Orlando is now 1 game behind the 6th seeded Pacers for the last playoff spot to avoid the play-in tournament. This loss snaps their 3-game winning streak and they are now 7-3 over their last 10. Their next matchup will be on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets.