New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) charges forward between Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) and guard Davion Mitchell (45) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Rebecca Blackwell
As Trey Murphy was shooting his way into the franchise record book Sunday, the New Orleans Pelicans were busy shooting themselves in the foot.
Murphy became the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-pointers Sunday, surpassing CJ McCollum.
But it wasn’t enough to stop a sloppy Pelicans’ performance that led to a 125-106 setback to the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.
It was the seventh consecutive loss for the Pelicans (8-29). The losing streak has included losses where the Pelicans struggled rebounding or couldn’t make free throws. In this one, it was turnovers that did the Pels in.
The Pelicans committed 17 of their 26 turnovers in the first half and trailed 70-62 at the break. The Heat (20-16) then outscored the Pels 23-15 in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 93-77.
“The turnovers cost us,” said Pelicans’ interim coach James Borrego. “That was the game. Some of that was carelessness. Some of that was their aggression. Some of that was rim decisions. Paint decisions. … We’ve got to be better there. The challenge for us defensively is present enough. We don’t need to help our opponents by turning it over and giving them easy ones.”
Miami scored 31 points off turnovers, enough to ruin Murphy’s record-breaking night.
Murphy, who returned after missing Friday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a back injury, needed just two quarters to rewrite the record book.
Murphy tied McCollum’s record of 692 3-pointers with 3:58 left in the second quarter on an assist from Jordan Poole. He broke the record with 39.8 seconds left in the half on an assist from Zion Williamson. Murphy, in his fifth season, needed just 285 games to set the record.
“He deserves a ton of credit,” Borrego said. “He’s put the work in. He’s a tremendous worker. He’s going to have a wonderful career here. He’s already put up some big numbers. I’m proud of him. He’s fantastic and keeps growing every year and adding to his game. He's tremendous and deserves all the credit for that.”
Murphy knocked down a season-high seven 3-pointers in the game on 15 attempts. He finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Miami’s Norman Powell was even hotter, making 9 of 12 treys to finish with a game-high 34 points.
The Pelicans are allowing an average of 127.1 points per game during the losing streak that started when [defensive stopper Herb Jones suffered an ankle injury that has sidelined him.](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/cec0f571-28cd-48f7-a32f-a16792616d95/)
Derik Queen, who also returned after missing Friday’s game, scored 13 points to go with six rebounds. Zion Williamson, who had scored at least 30 points in each of the last three games, finished with 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting. Those were the only three Pels in double figures.
“They made it tough on him at the rim,” Borrego said about Williamson's night. “We’ll try to do a better job of opening up the floor and getting him some easy looks. He’s been tremendous during this run and I expect him to bounce back Tuesday night.”
The Pelicans will try to end their 7-game losing streak Tuesday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers.