Murphy scores season-high 34 points as Pelicans rout short-handed Raptors 139-98

TORONTO -- — Trey Murphy III scored a season-high 34 points and the New Orleans Pelicans handed the short-handed Raptors the worst home defeat in franchise history by hammering Toronto 139-98 on Tuesday night.

Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Murphy matched a career best by making 10 of 14 3-point attempts as the Pelicans dealt the Raptors their largest defeat of the season, eclipsing a 38-point drubbing they gave Toronto in New Orleans last month.

“Trey was fantastic,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “When he shoots the ball like that, we’re a hard team to beat.”

The Pelicans’ biggest lead was 43 points, and they made 24 of 49 shots from 3-point range. New Orleans set a franchise record with 25 made 3s in a Jan. 17 win over Charlotte.

Herb Jones scored 17 points, Zion Williamson had 16 and Brandon Ingram 12. New Orleans has won three of four.

“I love the fact that we had 27 fast-break points,” Green said. “We shot the 3-ball well. Just collectively, as a team, it was a dominant performance, wire-to-wire.”

Ingram hit a career-high eight 3-pointers when the Pelicans routed the Raptors 138-100 on Feb. 5. He went 0 for 1 from long range on Tuesday.

Williamson narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds in his professional debut north of the border. Williamson was at Duke, playing alongside Toronto’s RJ Barrett, when he last played in Toronto on an exhibition tour in the summer of 2018.

“Since I met RJ, that’s been my brother for life,” Williamson said. “To be able to compete against him tonight, especially where he grew up, it was dope. I got bragging rights because I can say we got the win.”

Toronto’s previous worst home loss was a 126-86 defeat against Orlando on March 29, 1996, near the end of the Raptors’ expansion season.

Immanuel Quickley scored 17 points for the Raptors, who played without All-Star Scottie Barnes and center Jakob Poeltl.

Barnes is out indefinitely after breaking his left hand in last Friday’s home loss to Golden State. Before the game, coach Darko Rajakovic said it was too soon to say whether Barnes would be able to return before the end of the season. The Raptors announced Monday night that Barnes had undergone surgery in Los Angeles.

Following the game, the Raptors said Poeltl had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his left pinkie, the injury that forced him out of Sunday’s win over Charlotte.

Raptors guard Bruce Brown sat out for the second straight game because of a sore right knee. Toronto guard Ochai Agbaji made his second consecutive start but exited in the third quarter because of a sore left knee.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 16 points for Toronto. Barrett and Kelly Olynyk each had 15.

Down 19-14 early, New Orleans answered with a 12-2 run and led 42-28 after one quarter.

“We were trying our best to stay in front of Zion and protect the paint and they caught fire,” Rajakovic said.

Ingram opened the second by eluding Toronto’s Jordan Nwora with a crossover and driving for a one-handed slam.

Williamson punctuated the half by stripping Raptors rookie Gradey Dick near midcourt in the final minute and breaking away for a powerful dunk. New Orleans led 68-45 at the break and took a 106-76 lead to the fourth.

Toronto signed guard Jahmi’us Ramsey to a 10-day contract Tuesday. Ramsey made his Raptors debut in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Pelicans: Visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

Raptors: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

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