Dejounte Murray had his best game in a New Orleans Pelicans’ uniform Friday night.
Too bad it wasn’t quite enough to push the Pelicans past the Houston Rockets for what would have been a third straight win.
The Pelicans were unable to hold on to a 4-point lead late and ended up falling 107-105 to the Rockets at the Toyota Center.
Murray, in his eight game back from his torn Achilles injury last season, finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The 35 points were the most points he’s scored since joining the Pelicans last season. His previous career high was 30 points last season against the Dallas Mavericks.
“On both sides of the ball, he was fantastic down the stretch,” said Pelicans’ interim head coach James Borrego. “He really settles us and gives us great poise out there.”
Murray’s steal and lay-up with 1:07 left gave the Pelicans a 102-100 lead. Zion Williamson made a pair of free throws with 31.8 seconds remaining to expand the lead to 104-100. But the Pelicans couldn’t hold on.
Houston’s Jabari Smith drained a 3-pointer with 21.7 seconds left. After a timeout, the Pelicans turned the ball over on the inbounds play when Murray stepped out of bounds. Kevin Durant then hit a jumper from the right elbow to give the Rockets a 105-104 lead. The Pels turned the ball over again on an inbounds play when Herb Jones fell down after Williamson threw the ball in. Despite those miscues, the Pels still had one last chance after Durant made two free throws to put the Pels in a 107-104 hole.
With three seconds left, Murray made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second one. Williamson was able to tip the loose ball out to Trey Murphy, but Murphy’s off balance 3-pointer at the buzzer wouldn’t go down.
“We executed (the missed free throw) and had a shot to win it there at the end,” Borrego said. “Unfortunately, we had a four- point lead and we’ve got to own that. That possession (on Smith’s 3-pointer) was huge. We can’t give up a three there.”
The Pelicans (22-46) and Rockets (41-25) split their first two games this season. That included a game in mid-December when the Pelicans erased a 25-point deficit in one of their most impressive wins of the season. The Pels’ largest deficit in this one was 11 points, but they were unable to close the gap completely.
Williamson finished with 21 points and five rebounds. Murphy finished with 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Durant scored 32 to lead the Rockets, who moved to third in the Western Conference standings.
The Pels return home for a 4-game homestand starting Monday against the Dalla Mavericks.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Borrego said. “A resilient group. We battled our tails off defensively and held that group to 107. I thought our defense was gritty all night.”
