Trey Murphy, Pelicans Ground Hawks in Summer League Action

The Pelicans' effort against the Atlanta Hawks was a better performance than their first outing. The Pelicans started fast and got a wire-to-wire victory in this one. Trey Murphy III led all scorers with 30 points on 10/18 from the field.

He was aggressive from the start and did not settle for 3s. He put his head down often, getting to the basket almost at will and getting fouled.

In his postgame interview, he mentioned an area he's worked hard on is putting the ball on the ground and getting in the lane. It's showing up in a big way during Summer League.

Trigga Trey lit up the Cox Pavilion like it was the Vegas Strip. ⭐️

30PTS/6REB/1AST/1STL/1BLK@treymurphy | #SummerPelicans pic.twitter.com/YV3TU9tqUb
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 12, 2022

The team shooting improved after going just 27% from the field and 12% from 3 in the loss on Saturday night. They bounced back to shoot 55% from the field and 44% from 3 on Monday. Most of this is attributed to a better shot selection for the Pelicans. They did most of their damage in the painted area and got the whistle. They also took half as many 3-pointers as they did against Portland.

Jared Harper, who started in place of the injured Dyson Daniels, scored 14 points but, more importantly, dished out seven assists. He did not record an assist in his first game. Pelicans guard Daeqwon Plowden was the surprise of the night. After logging just 3 minutes in the Pelicans' loss on Saturday, he bounced back with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Guard play was premium for the Pelicans as they pushed the pace nicely, showing a real sense of urgency in this one.

All was not roses, however. Pelicans forward and second-round pick E.J. Liddell went down and looked like a nasty knee injury in the 3rd quarter. That was unfortunate as the rookie had an excellent game up to that point with 6 points, four rebounds, and two assists. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time, but the team will know more after his evaluation. Both Pelicans' draft picks going down with injuries in back-to-back games is not ideal.

The Pelicans will continue their Summer League play on Wednesday when they take the Washington Wizards in the Thomas & Mack Center. Both teams are 1-1 heading into that contest as the Pelicans will look to get back-to-back victories.

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