Trey Murphy already had made three 3-pointers before he decided to pull up from 31 feet away late in the second half.
Murphy took two dribbles inside the half-court line and fired a shot over Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen. Murphy's make gave the New Orleans Pelicans a 10-point lead.
Murphy scored a season-high 28 points in his first start of the season, including six 3-pointers, as New Orleans beat Cleveland 123-104 on Thursday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Pelicans (17-12) improved to 8-7 on the road.
"He was great," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "I joked with him in the locker room that he missed a few. That’s what Trey brings to this team. He can space the floor. He’s confident. He’s starting to put the ball on the floor a little bit more. Shot fake. Drive. Go finish. And he’s finding his teammates as well. He’s a weapon for us for sure.”
Murphy started 65 games for the Pelicans last season. He missed the first 19 games of this season while recovering from left knee surgery. Since returning to the lineup Dec. 1, he has not displayed any signs of rust.
The Pelicans got off to a great start against the Cavaliers because of Murphy and Brandon Ingram, their two starting forwards. Murphy made a finger roll that gave New Orleans an early 16-9 lead.
The Pelicans did not have Zion Williamson, who missed the game with an illness. They still had one of their most efficient offensive nights of the season. New Orleans shot 54.7% from the field and 42.9% from 3. Six Pelicans players scored in double figures.
Ingram — who notched 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists — had a strong all-around performance. Ingram assisted Herb Jones for New Orleans' final field goal of the first half. Ingram drove, drew the defense toward him and found a cutting Jones. That was one of the 18 first-half assists the Pelicans tallied.
"I thought B.I. set the tone for us early," Green said.
The Pelicans built a 14-point lead by halftime. With 4:36 remaining in the third quarter, Cavaliers wing Dean Wade hit a 3 that cut the Pelicans’ lead to four. New Orleans responded with a 14-0 run to close the third quarter. After the Wade 3, the Cavaliers did not score in the rest of the quarter.
Murphy put an exclamation point on his performance by hitting a step-back 3 with 4:42 left. His final 3-pointer of the game put the Pelicans ahead by 21 points.
CJ McCollum contributed 18 points for New Orleans. Naji Marshall chipped in with 14 points off the bench. New Orleans easily dispatched a Cleveland team missing Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, its two high-scoring guards.
“They were giving it all they had," Green said. "And look, we know Cleveland, they were down guys. They fought hard. They’re well coached. They executed on both ends of the floor. So give them credit. But it was important for us to come out tonight and execute on both ends of the floor. And we did that.”
New Orleans has a 7-3 record in December. It has one more game remaining before Christmas Day as it hosts the Houston Rockets on Saturday.