Turnovers and a lack of attention to detail ultimately doomed the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night in their 125-106 loss to the Miami Heat. This loss brings the Pelicans’ losing streak to seven straight games and is the team’s third straight loss by 13 points or more.
This game started as a shootout with the Heat leading 43-39 after one quarter as the Pelicans simply had no answer for Norman Powell to open this game. The 2019 NBA champion had 15 points on 4/4 shooting from beyond the arc in the first quarter. This was a trend that continued all night, as Powell ultimately finished with 34 points and knocked down nine threes in the game.
Speaking of trends, the Pelicans broke one of their bad trends tonight by shooting extremely well from the three ball and, for the most part, keeping up with their opponent from beyond the arc. New Orleans finished the game 16/40 from three (40 percent) and attempted just four fewer threes than Miami. All season it was the Pelicans’ inability to keep up with teams from distance that got them out of games, but tonight it was the substitutions.
All game long, the Pelicans were unable to appreciate their possessions, turning the ball over a season-high 25 times, leading to 31 fewer turnovers for the Heat. The other crushing part: six of the 25 TOs were unforced.
The biggest positive from this loss was Trey Murphy III, as he has now become the Pelicans’ franchise leader in three-pointers.
The case for TM III to stay put at the trade deadline
Apart from Jeremiah Fearswho finished with 21 points that night, Trey Murphy III was the only Pelican who was a consistent option offensively. Murphy III scored 27 points and hit seven threes, helping him pass C.J. McCollum for the most three-pointers made franchise history with 696. He also played nearly 40 minutes, logging 38 minutes in the game and bringing in eight rebounds to go with five assists.
It’s hard not to be impressed with Murphy III as he continues to prove he’s less of a catch-and-shoot off-ball scorer — and much more of a bona fide bucket-getter.
Performances like tonight are why certain people, including myself, feel the Pelicans should remain extremely reluctant to trade Murphy III at this year’s deadline. New Orleans is already short on floor space, and we saw again tonight that when Murphy III is in the lineup, their outside attempts only skyrocket.
As the deadline approaches, performances like Sunday night strengthen the case for keeping Murphy III long-term as he continues to prove he can be a legitimate building block for this team.
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