The New Orleans Pelicans have managed to win two straight games without Zion Williamson while he was in health and safety protocols. Williamson is due back on Monday against the Indiana Pacers, but the Pelicans depth has shown in these two wins. In the second of those two wins on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pelicans barely managed to escape with a victory after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misfired on the potential game-tying three-point shot. It was Pelicans second-year wing Trey Murphy III who inadvertently set Gilgeous-Alexander up for the shot when instead of securing the rebound, he batted out the ball to the perimeter and right into Gilgeous-Alexander's hands. After the game, he breathed a sigh of relief as the shot did not fall as per Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

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His dangerous gaffe aside, Murphy did his part in the game to secure the win for the Pelicans. He had a team-high 23 points on 61.5 percent shooting from the field and 5-8 shooting from the three-point line. He also grabbed five rebounds and came up with two steals.

It's been a solid season for Trey Murphy as he has carried over the momentum from his rookie year into this year. Last season, Murphy came off the bench for all but one of the 62 games he played in as a rookie. This season, he has been a regular starter and is putting up 12.7 points per game, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from the three-point line.