NBA

Murray 'embarrassed' by Pelicans loss to Raptors on injury return

By Sports Desk November 28, 2024 304

Dejounte Murray raged that he was “embarrassed” after the New Orleans Pelicans lost 119-93 to a Toronto Raptors side who were winless in 10 games on the road.

It was only Murray’s second game for the Pelicans, having fractured his hand on his debut at the end of October.

The Raptors had failed to win in New Orleans since 8 March 2019, losing their previous four games. The last three of which were decided by an average of 28.7 points.

Yet they were able to take a 34-point lead in the second half, extending the Pelicans’ losing streak to six games and leaving Dejounte frustrated.

"If you're not embarrassed and really mad about this, that's a problem," Murray told the press.

"It's not really about the loss, [but] how we lost in front of our fans. Like, even the fans booing, I mean, what would you do if you were a fan paying your money?

"You want to come watch a competitive basketball game, especially from your home team. So, they got all the rights to say what they want, feel how they feel. They deserve a better game."

Having missed 17 games, Murray had a rusty return, missing his first seven shots and finishing the game on 14 points.

The Pelicans have struggled with injuries as Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins have all faced a spell on the sidelines.

While Williamson and McCollum had returned, the New Orleans side remained without their other five absentees. However, Murray was not willing to accept it as an excuse.

"When you've got guys in, guys out, guys in, guys out, it's really tough. But I think it's not tough to compete,” he added.

"You can't get punked. You can't get pushed around. Tonight, it was just disgusting. We've got to compete. We've got to play harder, no matter who's on the floor."

Last modified on Thursday, 28 November 2024 15:12
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