Dejounte Murray’s time in New Orleans hasn’t been easy.
A broken hand. A broken heart. Then a torn Achilles that took basketball away from him for more than a year.
Eight games into his return from that injury, Murray is doing much better.
And so are the New Orleans Pelicans.
“I found my ... joy again,” Murray posted on X last week.
It didn’t take long for Murray to find it. He's playing as good as he’s ever played since arriving in New Orleans at the beginning of last season.
In Wednesday’s win over the Toronto Raptors, he scored a season-high 27 points to go with five rebounds and six assists.
“He had the fire, the juice,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said. “He was going to will us to that win somehow, someway.”
Murray followed that up Friday with 35 points, seven rebounds and four assists against the Houston Rockets in a 107-105 loss. The 35 points were the most he’s ever scored with the Pelicans. He did it on 14-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. The last Pelicans guard to score 35 or more points while shooting 75% or better in a game was Jrue Holiday (37 points on 16-of-21 shooting) against the Rockets in the 2017-18 season.
Rockets star Kevin Durant got to watch Murray up close Friday night and appreciated what he saw. Durant, who suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 playoffs, led the Rockets with 32 points Friday.
"I know what that journey is like coming back from an Achilles," Durant said. "I’ve been watching him these last eight games. He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s still quick. He’s still getting wherever he wants to get on the floor. It was an insane game for him.”
Murray is averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists since coming back. Over the last two games, he’s averaging 31 points, six steals and five assists. He was on a 24-minute restriction when he first returned, but he has played more than 30 minutes in each of his last two outings.
“I feel great mentally, physically and spiritually, and I’m just really taking it one day at a time,” Murray said. “This thing is a challenge. The challenge is just getting back into the flow of things. Coming back with only 20-something games left is real different.”
But challenges are nothing new for Murray. In addition to the injuries, he also dealt with his mother having a stroke at the beginning of last season and the death of a cousin.
“It’s amazing when the game is taken away from you, how he’s come back with this fresh perspective,” Borrego said. “On life and on basketball. His love for this team. His love for this organization. It’s been a reset for him. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Here's how good things have gone for Murray. On Friday, he almost had success on a play that rarely works. Trailing by two with three seconds left, Murray was at the free-throw line and needed to intentionally miss his second attempt. He did so, and the ball bounced off the front of the rim and deflected off several hands before going to Trey Murphy. Murphy’s off-balance 3-pointer just missed.
So instead of the Pelicans being 5-3 in games Murray has played, they are 4-4. But they are much better, showing glimpses of what could have been if Murray had been around for the entire season. The offense flows better with a steady, veteran floor general such as Murray.
“It’s more his vocal leadership,” Borrego said. “Leadership comes in different forms. Ultimately, to be a leader in this league, you’ve got to have a vocal presence and that’s what he does for us. He brings a vocal presence in the locker room, in huddles during timeouts, postgame, pregame, on the bus.
"There is a spirit about him. He’s nudging these guys and pushing them and holding himself accountable. That’s what leaders do.”
The Pelicans (22-46), who begin a four-game home stand Monday against the Dallas Mavericks, have just 14 games remaining this season. Unlike the other teams in the league with so few wins, the Pelicans are still trying to win games. With no draft picks, they have no reason to tank.
“The beauty of it is we can continue to be better each and every night,” Murray said.
That's what Murray has done. His point total has increased in each of the past four games as he continues to build chemistry with a lineup he had never played with before.
Was Borrego expecting Murray, coming off one of the most brutal injuries in sports, to be this good this soon?
“I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest,” Borrego said. “I never try to get ahead of it. I just try to live in the moment and see where he’s at. But he’s been impressive. It’s physically impressive to do this. He was not going to be denied this season, and he came back with a great urgency.”
Murray is back.
And his joy is, too.