Following Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma City, the New Orleans Pelicans used shooting guard Trey Murphy III’s nine three-point baskets and a career-high 41 points to defeat the Portland Trailblazers 127-110 Sunday night.
Scoring 74 points in the first half and taking a 20-point lead into the locker room, the Pelicans showed an aggressive style of play that was absent on Saturday. Along with Murphy’s outstanding performance, both guard CJ McCollum (22 points, 11 assists) and center Jonas Valanciunas (11 points, 12 rebounds) posted double-doubles.
The Trail Blazers were without star guard Damian Lillard, who was out with tightness in his right calf. Portland was led by Anfernee Simmons scoring 17 points, with Shaedon Sharpe and Kevin Knox each pitching in 14 points apiece.
Murphy hit five of his three-pointers in the first half, scoring 25 in the first 24 minutes – including a few massive dunks that have gained him popularity since participating in the 2023 NBA Dunk Contest a few weeks ago.
All of McCollum’s points came in the first half, with the veteran guard and former Blazer getting a chance to go to the bench and watch the entire team play in the second half.
“That was a fun game to watch,” New Orleans head coach Willie Green said afterward. “When that opportunity comes knocking, we want to take advantage of it. I think we started the game with a different mindset, a different force. In the OKC game, we didn’t start with the same mentality.”
Beyond the arc, the Pelicans shot 47.5% while shooting exactly 50% from the field. Every player, with the exception of Garrett Temple, scored at least once.
Next up for New Orleans will be a Tuesday night matchup against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers at 7 p.m. CT.
