Cavaliers Now

Trey Murphy Drops 21 in Pelicans' Comeback Win Over Lakers

Murphy helped New Orleans come back from down 23 points to beat the Lakers on Sunday night

Matt Newton

On Sunday night in New Orleans, the Pelicans trailed the Los Angeles Lakers by as many as 23 points. Behind a strong second-half performance from former UVA men's basketball star Trey Murphy, New Orleans erased that deficit and went on to beat the Lakers 116-108. 

Murphy scored each of his 21 points off the bench in the second half, including 16 points in the third quarter to lead the comeback effort for the Pelicans. The rookie finished with 21 points on 7/12 shooting from the floor and made four three-pointers on seven attempts. He also collected four rebounds and had the best +/- of any player in the game at +21. 

Murphy made the highlight play of the game when he slammed down this putback dunk in the third quarter. 

That was not the first time Murphy has thrown down a highlight dunk this week. He made this spectacular play a few days ago against the Chicago Bulls: 

The victory was a crucial one for the Pelicans, who are now a half-game above the Lakers for ninth place in the Western Conference standings with seven games remaining in the regular season. Murphy and the Pelicans take on the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday night. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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