Trey Murphy III scores 41 points, Pelicans top Blazers 127-110

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III hit a career-best 9 three-pointers to highlight his career-high 41 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-110 on Sunday night.

The Pelicans are now 33-35 as they try to stay in contention for a Western Conference postseason berth.

CJ McCollum had 22 points and 11 assists for New Orleans, which made 18 of its first 30 3-point attempts as a team before finishing 19 of 40 (47.5%) from deep. Josh Richardson scored 19 points for the Pelicans.

Herbert Jones added 16 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans win handily despite playing for a second straight game without high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram (right ankle).

Anfernee Simons scored 17 for Portland, while Shaedon Sharpe and Kevin Knox each scored 14 points and Cam Reddish added 11.