New Orleans didn’t have anyone in uniform Tuesday who’s accustomed to playing most of their minutes at point guard, but a stingy Pelicans defense again meant a big scoring night wasn’t necessary. For the third time since Feb. 10, New Orleans notched a road victory while holding its hosts under 100 points on the scoreboard, a rare defensive feat during this up-tempo, high-scoring NBA campaign. While playing without several major contributors of its own (Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby), New York couldn’t generate enough points to hang with New Orleans, the second time that’s been the case this season.
Pelicans Stat Leader Highlights: Trey Murphy III with 26 points vs. New York Knicks 2/27/24
THREE POINTS
Trey Murphy breakout.
The third-year forward seemed on his way to a helpful performance through three quarters with 10 points and a pair of three-pointers, but then he sealed the outcome in the final 12 minutes with a 16-point barrage, draining four more deep balls. Murphy’s 26-point game (and six threes) virtually matched his two best offensive outputs of the season (28 points at Cleveland, 27 points at Washington, both wins featuring six trifectas). Against New York, Murphy finished 9/14 from the field and 6/11 from the arc. “Shooting the ball with confidence has been my biggest thing these last couple games,” Murphy said in his postgame TV interview with Jen Hale. “I just try to not force too much, play within my game. There were a lot of open shots. I took them and wanted to make sure I shot them with confidence, and trust my work.”
Herb Jones, elite-ranked three-point shooter.
Speaking of vital third-year contributors, with so much focus on Jones’ All-Defensive work, it’s easy to overlook other aspects of his game. Jones entered Tuesday’s game ranked No. 16 among qualified players in three-point percentage (42.3), placing just ahead of the likes of Kevin Durant (17th) and Kyrie Irving (19th). Jones improved on his accuracy rate by going 3/4 on three-pointers against the Knicks, burning the defense for devoting extra bodies to Zion Williamson in the paint. Jones has scored 13 or more points in eight of the last nine games.
Working through guard DNPs.
CJ McCollum was sidelined for a second straight game Tuesday due to an ankle injury, while Jose Alvarado served Game 2 of his three-game league suspension. It hasn’t taken long this week to notice that the defenses of Chicago and New York have reacted to those absences by hounding New Orleans ballhandlers further from the hoop that normal, making it more of a challenge for the Pelicans to get into their offense. NOLA did a slightly better job limiting turnovers (15) vs. the Knicks and not allowing that area to become a major, game-changing issue. The Pels shot just 40 percent from the field in Tuesday’s first half, but got that up to 51 percent by game’s end.
BY THE NUMBERS
41-25: New Orleans advantage in the fourth quarter, turning a seven-point lead into a 23-point blowout. The Pelicans were able to get Jalen Crutcher in for his official NBA debut in the final two minutes.
7/7: Pelicans perfect three-point shooting in the fourth quarter. They were a splendid 12/14 on field goals and 10/11 on free throws.
5: New Orleans place in the West standings following Tuesday’s win. The Pelicans moved 1.5 games ahead of Dallas (33-25) after the Mavericks lost, while inching a half-game ahead of Phoenix (34-24).