The New Orleans Pelicans’ season-long struggles continued Friday night with a 132-124 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Smoothie King Center. With the loss, the Pelicans extended their losing streak to nine games.
Trey Murphy III came through with another strong performance, offering a much-needed bright spot in another otherwise unremarkable defeat for New Orleans. Murphy poured in a season-high 35 points, shooting 11-of-20 from the field and a blistering 6-of-11 (season-high 3PM) from beyond the three-point arc.
The 24-year-old forward has now scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games—the longest streak of his young career. Over this five-game stretch, Murphy has averaged 26.2 points per game, while shooting 53.4% overall and making 45.2% of his three-point attempts. Trey leads the NBA with 11 games with at least three made triples this month.
Murphy continues to make a strong case to be considered a key building block for the Pelicans in the seasons ahead.
“Trey’s been phenomenal for us,” head coach Willie Green said postgame. “He’s stepping up, staying aggressive, and giving us everything he’s got on both ends. We just need more consistency as a team to turn these performances into wins.”
Despite Murphy’s heroics and a 32-point outing from CJ McCollum, his third 30-point game this season, the Pelicans were simply outgunned by the Grizzlies. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 33 points, as Ja Morant added 25 before leaving the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury following a collision with Pelicans center Daniel Theis.
The Pelicans once again fell behind by more than 20 points on their home floor. They were forced to chip away at a 22-point deficit and were able to narrow the gap to just six late in the third quarter. However, a key turnover by Murphy—his only one of the game—led to an 8-0 Grizzlies run capped by a floater by Jackson and a Luke Kennard three-pointer. Memphis was firmly back in control, and New Orleans was unable to recover.
Dejounte Murray’s turnover issues continued to plague the team. He had seven turnovers against the Grizzlies, marking his fourth game this season with at least seven. For context, Murray had just two such games in his entire career before joining the Pelicans. His struggles with ball security remain a major problem as the Pelicans desperately try to find consistency on offense.
“I take responsibility for that,” Murray said. “We can’t afford to give the ball away like that, especially against a team like Memphis. I’ve got to be better.”
On the other end of the floor, the Pelicans’ defense was torched by Memphis’ three-point shooting. The Grizzlies knocked down 17 of their 41 attempts from long distance (41.5%), while New Orleans managed just 11-of-38 (28.9%) from deep. It was the eighth time this season that the Pelicans made less than 30 percent of their three-pointers and the 14th time an opponent converted 40 percent or more of its three-point attempts.
Desmond Bane contributed 18 points for Memphis, while Scottie Pippen Jr. and Zach Edey added 13 and 14 points, respectively.
New Orleans dropped to 0-14 in games missed by Brandon Ingram this season and is 3-23 in contests without Zion Williamson.
Despite the loss, Murphy’s breakout performances provide a glimmer of hope for the Pelicans as they prepare for a critical matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night to close out this five-game home stand.
“It’s tough right now,” Green said. “But this group has fight. Trey is showing what he can do, and we’re going to keep working to get better. It’s a long season.”
As the Pelicans look to snap their nine-game skid, fans will be watching closely to see if Murphy can continue his torrid scoring streak and whether the team can play some consistent NBA-level basketball.
Because it has already been a long season in New Orleans. And, like the team’s current losing streak, it just feels like its getting longer and longer.
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