Trey Murphy knew the shots would start falling.
So he wasn’t really fazed by his rough start to the season.
A night like Saturday would eventually come.
Murphy poured in 41 points in a 126-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, tying a career-high that he reached both last season and in the 2022-’23 season.
While Murphy would have much rather have had a win to go with it, it’s good to see him get back to the form of a player who has All-Star aspirations.
Murphy couldn't get anything to fall the first four games of the season. He made just 18 of 52 shots, including only 5 of 23 3-pointers. That came with back-to-back games where he scored just seven points against the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets. But since then, he's heated up. He’s made 21 of his last 47 3-pointers (44.7%). He hopes to continue that Monday night when the Pelicans (2-7) play at the Phoenix Suns (5-5).
“I think the biggest thing is just shooting the ball with confidence and getting back into the flow of things,” Murphy said last week. “Law of large numbers. The more of a sample size you get, the more it’s going to go back to where it’s supposed to be.”
Murphy shot 15-of-22 from the floor Saturday. He buried a 38-foot jumper at the end of the third quarter. His night also included nine rebounds, one shy of his season-best 10 boards he grabbed in the first game against the Spurs. He’s averaging a career-best 6.7 rebounds per game.
“Trey is a fantastic basketball player,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green. “He’s opening up the floor for his teammates. He’s putting a ton of pressure on the defense right now, and those are some of the things that we want him to continue to do.”
And his teammates are making things easier for him. Particularly rookie Derik Queen.
“Big credit to DQ as well,” Murphy said. “Me and DQ are starting to find some synergy together. He’s a really good player. And he’s going to be really good in this league. I feel like me and him complement each other really well.”
After Monday’s game against the Suns, the Pelicans return home for a 5-game homestand. The Pels host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. They follow that up in the Smoothie King Center with a brutal four-game stretch against the Los Angeles Lakers (Friday), Golden State Warriors (Sunday), Oklahoma City Thunder (Nov. 17) and Denver Nuggets (Nov. 19).