Pelicans' Trey Murphy: Scores 21 points Thursday

Murphy amassed 21 points (6-13 FG, 3-9 3Pt, 6-7 FT), four rebounds and one steal over 40 minutes during Thursday's 111-109 loss to the Kings.

Even though CJ McCollum was the Pelicans' leading scorer in this tight loss Thursday, there's no question Murphy made his presence felt as well. He seems to have recovered the starting role due to Brandon Ingram's (ankle) absence, and Murphy has scored at least 20 points in his previous two outings with the first unit, so expect him to continue having a sizable role on offense for the time being. That shouldn't be surprising given how depleted the Pelicans are, though. Murphy is also on a roll of four straight games with more than 15 points, averaging 20.3 points and shooting 53.1 percent from the field in that span.