On a night where hoop dreams met hard reality, the New Orleans Pelicans soared over the Portland Trail Blazers with a decisive 110-100 victory, as reported by KATU. Trey Murphy III didn't just play, he slayed, dropping a substantial 31 points and snagging eight rebounds, proving once and for all that gravity is just a theory when you've got a game like that. C.J. McCollum, the ex-Blazer turned Pelican, put on a clinic against the team that once called him family, torching the net for 29 points, which included a barrage of five 3-pointers, reminding folks that sometimes, change can be a very good thing indeed.
Zion Williamson, who is apparently in a long-term relationship with the rim given how often he's slamming the ball through it, added another 22 points and seven rebounds to the Pelican's tally, according to KATU. On the other side of the court, Deandre Ayton led Portland with 30 points, going 15-of-22 from the field. That wasn’t all, he also dominated the glass with 13 rebounds, while rookie sensation Scoot Henderson dished out a career-high of 15 assists and chipped in 19 points.
Despite the loss, Henderson’s performance was far from dim, shining bright with a record-setting night for the Blazers. "My performance was solid," the young star humbly stated "I was trying to get guys involved and they hit shots. Simple as that," according to Associated Press. His whopping total assists set a personal best and etched his name into the franchise history books as the record for assists by a rookie, which is not too shabby for a night's work.
Pelicans coach Willie Green sang praises about his players' performance, stating, "Trey has done a tremendous job stepping in and becoming a starter," and also noting the importance of Murphy’s shooting prowess as a tactical advantage that stretches the defense, making it tricky to double-team on fan-favorites Zion and McCollum, this nugget provided by KGW. Victory smells sweet and catapulted New Orleans into sixth in the Western Conference, sufficiently far from the clawing hands of the play-in zone thanks to their win and Phoenix's loss to the Clippers.
