No Dejounte Murray, no problem as the New Orleans Pelicans extended their winning streak to three games on Thursday night with a 105-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
It wasn't always pretty, the two squads scored just 33 points combined in the fourth inning, but the Pelicans pulled through in the end against a hobbled Clippers team. New Orleans improves to 25-46 with the victory, keeping their long-shot play-in hopes alive as long as they possibly can.
Los Angeles was without their top two offensive engines in this game, with both Darius Garland and Kawhi Leonard having to miss for rest on the back-to-back. Had one of them played, the game could have looked different with the Clippers still able to hang around without them.
The Pelicans, as mentioned, were without Murray, who is still unable to play back-to-backs. It would be shocking to see him in the final back-to-back that the team has next week against the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors on the road.
Murray means a lot to this team. They play far better with him on the court. It's still good to see New Orleans able to adjust in these games that he has to sit.
Trey Murphy led all scorers in this game with 27. He was 5-of-11 from three. Murphy has been fantastic this year, looking like every part of the dominant offensive player that the team needed him to become.
Yves Missi, who starts in Murray's place, had his fourth double-double of the season. He finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Missi has been someone who has shown the most growth within this season.
He's a very exciting player who is likely to show up in trade talks this offseason, but it would be fun to see the Pelicans continue to develop him.
New Orleans will close out this four-game home stand on Saturday at 6 pm CT against the 43-27 Cleveland Cavaliers. This will be a tough game.