NEW ORLEANS (AP) — CJ McCollum highlighted a 45-point performance with 3-pointers and reverse layups in the clutch.
Dejounte Murray's relentless pressure on both ends of the court left him one rebound short of a triple-double.
And the New Orleans Pelicans pulled off the largest comeback in franchise history.
As injury-ridden, star-crossed and generally miserable as much of their season has been, the Pelicans don't seem inclined to give up.
“Huge credit to our guys in the locker room pulling together,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said after his team erased a 25-point Utah lead and beat the Jazz, 123-119, in overtime on Monday night. "This was a hard game to win.”
Little has gone right for New Orleans this season.
Star power forward Zion Williamson, who recently returned from a left hamstring injury, couldn't play against Utah on Monday because of a non-COVID illness. He's missed 34 of the Pelicans' 44 games this season.
New Orleans’ top defender, Herb Jones, is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, while high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram has missed 20 straight games with a left ankle sprain.
The Pelicans had further matchup problems inside against Utah because rookie 7-foot center Yves Missi missed his second straight game with a non-COVID illness.
Utah outrebounded New Orleans 63-45, had 23 second-chance points and outscored the Pelicans 60-40 in the paint. Yet New Orleans (12-32), which will be hard-pressed to climb back into contention for a postseason berth, won its fourth straight game and seventh in 10.
“We were missing some guys who rebound the ball well,” McCollum said. "Sometimes, it’s not Xs and Os. It’s Jimmies and Joes.”
The 33-year-old McCollum has scored 45 or more points twice in 10 games, starting with 50 in a victory over Washington on Jan. 3.
“CJ was incredible and once he got going I thought his teammates did a great job of trying to find him," Green said. "We were drawing stuff up for him. He executed offensively over and over again. Without that effort, it’s hard for us to win that game.”
Now in his 12th NBA season, McCollum said he likes to think his game will “age well.”
“I ain’t out here dunking on people,” he said. "It’s skill. It’s strategy. It’s angles. It’s footwork. It’s a jump shot that never leaves. I’ll be able to shoot when I’m 40.”
Murray, who missed 17 games early this season with a hand injury, also is rounding into form and had 26 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, and two steals on Monday.
“He was super, super aggressive when we needed him to be," McCollum said.
Meanwhile, Trey Murphy III prolonged his recent run of productive form with 24 points, highlighted by a 3 late in overtime that all but sealed it. Additional help came from 2023 first-round draft choice Jordan Hawkins, who hit three 3-pointers and finished with 18 points.
McCollum lamented that one of New Orleans' three most recent losses came by a single point in Boston, where he missed a last-second floater for the win.
“I don’t take these wins for granted because it took us like two months to get five wins,” McCollum said. "You’ve got to ride the wave and just keep your perspective in check.”
The Pelicans were scheduled to play next on Wednesday night at home against Milwaukee. In the meantime, McCollum planned to make the best of a day off on Tuesday, when a rare snow storm was forecast for south Louisiana.
“I hope there’s lots of snow," said McCollum, a father of a 3-year-old boy, "so I can play in the snow with my son.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Brett Martel, The Associated Press
