During the Sunday NBA slate, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 136-104 despite missing several starters and Trey Murphy III’s 30-point performance.
“Just got to keep shooting, no matter if you hitting or not,” said Murphy, who’d missed 21 of 31 from deep in his previous five games. “Eventually, your percentage is gong to get to where it’s supposed to be. So, I’m just glad my teammates found me and I was able knock down shots.”
With the Pelicans reeling from a 10-game losing streak, they shot 57.1 percent from the floor and made 14 of 26 3-pointers. A second straight victory for New Orleans was led by Willy Hernangomez’s 22 points and 16 rebounds and Naji Marshall’s 17 points.
In addition to being without All-Star forward Zion Williamson (right hamstring) for an 18th straight game, the Pelicans also took the floor without high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram and starting center Jonas Valanciunas. Following a 35-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Ingram got the night off after returning from a left big toe injury. Due to a sore right quadriceps muscle, Valanciunas sat out of the Lakers game.
“All the guys understood that we were down a few guys, so we needed to step up,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Everyone that touched the floor today, they contributed. It started with our defense, getting deflections, challenging shots, rebounding the ball and we just played fast tonight.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Trey Murphy, New Orleans Pelicans & Sacramento Kings Updates
A second straight loss for the Kings without De’Aaron Fox was capped by 16 points from Malik Monk. He has unspecified personal reasons for being away from the team. A combined 12 points and 11 rebounds were contributed by Domantas Sabonis, whereas Trey Lyles scored 12 points.
“We’ve had a pretty good year so far, and we’ve experienced a lot of highs. And now we’ve hit a little adversity,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
A baseline drive started with Murphy’s ball fake, leading to a soaring dunk. Knowing that he needed to be more aggressive with other vital players sidelined, he attempted 11 shots.
“B.I. was out, so somebody had to be B.I.,” Murphy said, referring to Ingram. “So, I decided to tap into my B.I. skillset.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Trey Murphy, New Orleans Pelicans & Sacramento Kings Updates
New Orleans led by as many as 20 points during the first half. A Kira Lewis Jr. three-pointer gave the Pelicans a 70-50 lead, which Monk capped with a driving finger-roll that made it 70-52 at halftime. The Pelicans had allowed 70 first-half points in their previous two games. Less than six minutes into the third period, Larry Nance Jr. made one of his free throws to make it 80-50. Soon after, Murphy’s made triple pushed it to 93-60.
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