UVA alum Murphy honors victims after Pels' win

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Pelicans guardant Trey Murphy stopped his post-game quality league Wednesday nighttime to accidental helium was dedicating his past 2 games to the 3 Virginia shot players who were changeable and killed earlier this week.

Lavel Davis, Devin Chandler and D'Sean Perry were killed successful the shooting Sunday nighttime connected a charter autobus aft students returned to field from a tract travel successful Washington, D.C.

Murphy, who is successful his 2nd twelvemonth with the Pelicans, played his inferior play astatine Virginia successful 2019-20. He said that Davis "was a bully person of mine."

"I was truly bittersweet to spot him go," Murphy said. "He was a truly peculiar guy. So delight support their families successful your prayers. I'd admit that."

On Monday morning, aft quality of the shooting broke, Murphy tweeted, "Pray for your friends astatine UVA. Check connected your friends astatine UVA."

Murphy's words Wednesday came aft 1 of the champion performances of his young NBA career. After scoring 13 points successful Tuesday night's triumph implicit the Memphis Grizzlies, helium finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his archetypal vocation double-double successful a 124-110 triumph implicit the Chicago Bulls.

Murphy thought helium had his double-double locked up successful the 3rd 4th erstwhile helium tapped retired a rebound that Larry Nance Jr. controlled, but an authoritative scorer's alteration gave the committee to Nance. Murphy checked backmost successful precocious successful the crippled and stole a rebound from halfway Willy Hernangomez to marque definite No. 10 was his.

When asked if helium apologized for stealing Hernangomez's rebound, Murphy leaned straight into the podium microphone and said, "Absolutely not. And I'll bargain it again."

Murphy started his 2nd consecutive crippled for the Pelicans connected Wednesday with Zion Williamson missing games due to the fact that of a close ft contusion. He was 5-of-6 connected 3-pointers, including 1 from 34 feet.

Murphy besides tied a vocation precocious with 3 steals and had a artifact that led to a dunk implicit Bulls halfway Nikola Vucevic.

"He's conscionable been getting amended and better," Pelicans manager Willie Green said. "He's locked in, he's focused. Defensively he's flying around, blocking shots and rebounding the ball. And the shot finds energy. We cognize Trey tin sprout the ball. He tin sprout the screen disconnected of it. When guys get into the paint, guys are looking for him and he's getting to the close spots."

The Pelicans improved to 9-6 with the triumph moving to 3 games implicit .500 for the archetypal clip since Nov. 19, 2018 -- a span of 303 games. Since then, each different squad had been astatine slightest 3 games implicit .500 astatine immoderate point.