Trey Murphy scored 28 points, Dejounte Murray added 27 and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Toronto Raptors 122-111 on Wednesday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Zion Williamson added 19 points and Herb Jones scored 16 for the Pelicans (22-45), who surpassed their victory total from last season. Murphy made five 3-pointers and Jones had four.
New Orleans will visit the Houston Rockets on Friday night before starting a four-game home stand with a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Former Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram, playing his first game against his former team since they traded him in February 2025, scored 22 points for the Raptors (36-29), who were completing a back-to-back after losing at Houston 113-99 on Tuesday and fell for the fourth time in five games.
Immanuel Quickley had 25 points and RJ Barrett added 16 for Toronto, which will host New Orleans on March 27.
Jones had five points, Murray scored four and Murphy added two during an 11-0 run that expanded the Pelicans’ one-point lead to 77-65 midway through the third quarter. Ingram’s jumper ended a scoring drought of nearly four minutes for the Raptors, but New Orleans increased the lead to 18 points before holding a 93-83 edge at the end of the period.
Toronto scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, but Yves Missi and Williamson scored four each as the Pelicans took a 103-93 lead with eight minutes remaining.
The Raptors crept within six points, but Murray scored on a drive and Missi on a tip-in for another 10-point lead. Jakob Poeltl made a tip-in for Toronto, but Williamson’s dunk punctuated a 6-0 run that gave New Orleans a 113-99 lead with 4:12 left. The lead reached 18 in the final two minutes.
Ingram was cheered when introduced before the game and received a standing ovation after a tribute video was played during a timeout midway through the first quarter.
Quickley scored 11 of first-quarter points as Toronto took the biggest lead of the period, 24-17. Murphy had 14 points to help the Pelicans surge to a three-point lead before the Raptors scored the final four points to grab a 30-29 lead at the end of the period.
New Orleans took a three-point lead in the second quarter, but Ingram scored seven straight points in a span of 53 seconds. The Pelicans scored the next six points on their way to a 60-58 halftime lead.