ATLANTA — Hawks guard Dejounte Murray has been suspended for Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Celtics for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official at the conclusion of Game 4, the NBA announced on Monday.

As the clock expired on the Celtics’ Game 4 victory, Murray approached referee Gediminas Petraitis to say something to him. He leaned close to him and made contact before walking away. He turned around and yelled some parting words in his direction on his way off the court.

The Hawks already had a slim chance of winning the series – the Celtics lead, 3-1 – but the suspension of Murray now makes the task nearly impossible. The guard was averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for the Hawks over the first four games of the series.