Trey Murphy exploded for a career-high 44 points, but agonizing missed opportunities and late-game blunders led to overtime heartbreak for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trey Murphy finished with a career-high 44 points and a franchise-record 12 three-pointers, but the New Orleans Pelicans still fell to the 20-29 Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo in a 141-137 game that went to overtime.
The Pelicans are now 13-40 on the year on a night that will have fans especially upset.
Focusing on the positive first, what a night for Murphy. Going into this game, the forward was actually coming out of a cold streak. Over the final two weeks of January, he was still averaging 18.1 points per game, but it was coming off 32.5/23.9/85.3 shooting splits. For someone who had been so efficient all year, it was shocking.
He had 27 points on 50% from the field in New Orleans' last game and obviously had a career night on Wednesday. This is the Murphy that fans have known that he can be, and why the Pelicans have been so adamant about not trading him without receiving a haul.
Now, to the less fun.
The final 10 seconds of regulation were a rollercoaster ride. It looks like Myles Turner hit a huge three to give the Bucks a three-point lead with 5.5 seconds left. The review showed that Turner's foot was out of bounds.
The ensuing possession ended in a missed three-pointer from Jose Alvarado, giving Milwaukee 1.1 seconds to try and make something happen. Kyle Kuzma sailed the pass through the other side of the court, giving New Orleans the ball once again.
Murphy had a chance for a last-second lay-in, but it didn't go, sending the game to overtime.
The Pelicans have not done well in overtime this season, with this game no different. They quickly went down by five and had to play catch-up the entire time.
Still, New Orleans had a shot to tie it late or go ahead with a three, but a brutal mistake from Zion Williamson all but sealed the game. Williamson lost the ball and then got called for a foul to give the Bucks the ball back late.
Both at the end of the regulation and at the end of overtime, the Pelicans had the ball in the clutch and failed to get a shot off. The offense crumbled late. A brutal way to lose this game.
This loss stings extra for New Orleans fans as they wait to see if their franchise decides to do anything ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.
A report from Hardwood Paroxysm earlier on Wednesday said that the league view is that the Pelicans still believe they have a playoff-quality roster waiting to be unlocked. That suggests that there won't be any shakeups.
New Orleans, without a first-round pick and just a 34-101 record dating back to last, not seeing the need to change anything with its roster, is concerning. This game should show them that they are more than just coaching away from becoming a winning team.