Watch Trey Murphy III drain 9 3s, score 41, lead Pelicans past Blazers Pregame full court warmup shot from Curry hits ballboy in head Watch Marcus Smart get ejected after scuffle with Trae Young Buckets, blocks, Curry does it all in final minutes to lead Warriors past Bucks in OT Brunson out, Leonard scores 38, Clippers top Knicks 106-95

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Pelicans second year pro Trey Murphy III just started earning regular off-the-bench minutes last spring as a rookie.

Now he’s the kind of player who – on a good night – can drive a crowd into a jubilant frenzy with a fiery, breathtaking combination of deep punches and flashy finishers under the basket.

Murphy hit a career-best nine 3-pointers for 41 points as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 127–110 Sunday night.

“Trey was incredible,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said of the club’s 2021 first-round pick. “He’s a throwing master and he’s had an incredible year. I’m very proud of him.”

Murphy, who competed in the dunk contest during last month’s All-Star Weekend, also hit a couple of great shots, scoring his last two-handed driving dunk before being out for good. to thunderous applause.

“My game is very varied,” Murphy said. “I can score in different ways. So I think ending with an exclamation mark like dunk is pretty cool.”

CJ McCollum scored 22 points and 11 assists for New Orleans, who made 18 of his first 30 3-point attempts on the team before finishing 19 of 40 (47.5%) from deep.

Josh Richardson scored 19 points for the Pelicans, who won for the second time in two games, trying to stay in contention for a Western Conference postseason spot.

Herbert Jones added 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans win with ease despite playing his second straight game without a scoring wing. Brandon Ingram (right ankle).

The Blazers played without a star guard or top scorer Damian Lillardwho was sitting due to tension in his right calf.

Anferny Simons scored 17 for Portland, and Schaedon Sharp And Kevin Knox each scored 14 points and Cam reddish added 11.

“Trey Murphy had a night; the guys are going to have a good night, but we didn’t fight him enough,” said Portland coach Chauncey Billups. “We didn’t try to be aggressive at all and didn’t make adjustments. This is something that is difficult for me as a coach.”

After a lackluster double-figure home loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday night that left them 21 behind in the first half, the Pelicans turned the script against Portland.

Murphy hit five of his triples and scored 25 points in the first 24 minutes as New Orleans led by a whopping 20.

“I definitely felt like we responded very well to losing the previous night,” Murphy said. “Today we had a lot of speed.”

McCollum scored all the points in the first half, and the veteran defender was able to go to the bench for good, playing just 30 minutes.

“We were a bit inconsistent in our game, but today was a game where we were focused on the details and the game plan was excellent. This is what you need, ”Green said. “And it’s fun when we can play like that.”

New Orleans led 74–54 at halftime and led by 39 points in the second half, too much for Portland.

“I feel like we didn’t get the start we needed and we just put a lot of pressure on the bench,” Portland forward. Nasir Little said. “It’s hard to try to overcome a deficit like that and then maintain it throughout the game.”

Even if it Stephen Curryheadbutts to anyone near the basket during a stunt throw.

Curry’s usual throw before a game at Oracle Arena involves throwing longer than the entire court – it’s not as cool as shot from the tunnel in Oraclebut still impressive. With the exception of Saturday, the unsuspecting ball boy didn’t expect Curry to miss so badly with his stunt shot in front of the rock.

Oops… Be careful when Steph is going to film the tunnel across the site 🤕 pic.twitter.com/UHiYP948Ig

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2023

Everything was fine with the ball.

It looked like an omen of things to come when Curry missed the first three quarters. However, he prevailed in the last two minutes of the game and in overtime, leading the Warriors to a victory over the Bucks.

The Hawks were loitering around – losing eight with 1:30 left in the game – trying to pull off an incredible comeback when Trae Young fired on the drive, his leg kicked back and seemed to catch Marcus Smart to the groin, and Smart objects. The two men fight and fall to the ground.

Marcus Smart and Trae Young fight 👀 pic.twitter.com/QOtr87hL1f

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 12, 2023

Smart was sent off for the game, Young got a technical foul.

When Young was asked about the incident after the game, he decided not to say anything about the officials: “I’m not going to Fred VanVliet these people” (referring to VanVleet’s rant that cost him $30,000).

The Celtics held on with a 134-125 win, and that, combined with the Bucks’ loss to the Warriors, leaves Boston just 1.5 games behind Milwaukee and in first place in the East.

SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry knocked down all the dazzling shots that everyone used to expect from him at a decisive moment night after night, and then an unexpected block under the basket, which was of no less, and maybe even more importance.

Curry scored 36 points, 22 in the fourth quarter and overtime, in a brilliant first home game after a long injury absence to lead the Golden State Warriors 125-116 over the NBA’s top Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night .

Curry hit a tied 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in regulation and then blocked an layup attempt Jrue Holiday in the final moments.

Watch how Steph fully takes over the last two minutes of the regulation to send the game to OT 👀 pic.twitter.com/VQ9B2U4V58

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2023

“He came out of nowhere. Jru had a direct road to the ring.” Draymond Green said.

The Warriors returned the ball with 1.9 seconds left and Curry passed to Green, who missed from deep, although he was sure it was “cash”.

Holiday put Milwaukee in 3rd with 32.7 seconds to play and had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. But the Bucks (48-19), playing without a star Giannis Antetokounmposnapped their three-game winning streak by losing just their second loss in 21 games since January 21.

“I loved this game. I thought we…