Dejounte Murray scores 30 points as the Pelicans outlast the injury-depleted Mavericks 119-116

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Trey Murphy III comes up with game-saving block for the Pelicans

Trey Murphy III pins Spencer Dinwiddie's shot off the backboard to preserve the Pelicans' one-point lead in the final seconds.

Jan 15, 2025, 11:53 pm

NEW ORLEANS -- — Dejounte Murray scored 30 points, Trey Murphy III had a disputed block of Spencer Dinwiddie's layup for the lead with 4 seconds left and the New Orleans Pelicans outlasted the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 119-116 on Wednesday night.

Murphy had 24 points and 10 rebounds, capped by game-sealing free throws with 2 seconds left, but video replays made his block look more like a goaltend that wasn't called. The ball appeared to hit the glass before Murphy touched it, but the Mavs were out of timeouts and could not challenge.

Javonte Green added 13 points to help New Orleans (10-32) take its third victory in four games after winning just five of its first 33 contests.

Daniel Gafford scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, which played without top two scorers Luka Doncic (left calf) and Kyrie Irving (back), as well as usual starting center Dereck Lively (right ankle).

The Pelicans played without Zion Williamson (left hamstring), who was rested after playing Tuesday night in Chicago.

Jaden Hardy scored 21 points and Dinwiddie finished with 20 points for Dallas (22-19), which has lost three straight and eight of 10.

Takeaways

Mavericks: Trailing by as many as 10 in the third quarter, Dallas closed the period on a 20-6 run to take a 91-87 lead. Klay Thompson scored seven of his 12 points in the final minutes — including a 3 as the shot clock expired — to give the Mavs a 114-111 lead they couldn't hold.

Pelicans: Rookie Yves Missi and Jordan Hawkins each scored 12 as New Orleans won its fifth game in nine. ... The Pelicans expect Williamson back for their next two games, both against struggling Utah, but guard Jose Alvarado hurt his right hand.

Key moment

Green's second 3 in the last six minutes put New Orleans up 116-114 with 43.9 seconds left. Seconds later, CJ McCollum, who scored 11 points, caused Thompson to loose the ball out of bounds.

Key stat

New Orleans scored 24 points off of 17 Dallas turnovers.

Up next

The Mavericks host Oklahoma City on Friday, when New Orleans hosts Utah.

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