Trey Murphy couldn’t contain his excitement to get back on the court.
The New Orleans Pelicans forward missed the first 10 games of the season with a right hamstring strain. His only choice was to be a spectator while his injury-ravaged team got off to a slow start.
In Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, Murphy was eager to make his mark.
“It’s great to get Trey back,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Good to see a big smile on his face.”
Murphy scored the first basket of the game — dunking a lob pass that Brandon Boston threw him — and finished with 12 points in his season debut. Murphy’s return, however, wasn’t enough as the Pelicans coughed up a fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Nets 107-105 at the Smoothie King Center.
New Orleans (3-8) has lost five straight games and eight of its last nine. Even worse, the Pelicans’ schedule gets more difficult starting Wednesday. In their next six games, they face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
In their first game since learning Zion Williamson will be sidelined indefinitely with a hamstring injury, the Pelicans relied heavily on Brandon Ingram. He scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out five assists in the first half. His aggression was needed on a team that was missing so many regulars.
But in the second half, Ingram slowed down. He scored five points after halftime.
At the 3:35 mark of the fourth quarter, New Orleans took a four-point lead on a Boston dunk. The Pelicans didn’t score the rest of the game. Ingram missed a 12-foot running shot with 22 seconds left. With four seconds left, Javonte Green missed a wide-open 3 that could have put the Pelicans back on top.
Former LSU guard Cam Thomas scored 17 points for Brooklyn. He hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining.
The Pelicans opted to start Jose Alvarado, Boston, Murphy, Ingram and Yves Missi — their eighth different starting lineup in 11 games. Missi notched 17 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.
The injured Pelicans are in a free fall. They scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and another loss was added to their woes.
