The New Orleans Pelicans probably wish their game on Wednesday started a little earlier. After the New York Knicks became the first team in NBA history to have three players score 30+ points and make 5+ threes in the same game, three Pelicans players accomplished the same feat on the same night.
CJ McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III were the worthy trio for the Pelicans, garnering the milestone in an overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jones led the Pelicans with 35 points (a career high) and five made shots from beyond the arc. McCollum had 31 on six made threes, while Murphy III had 30 points while shooting 7-of-13 from deep.
The feat came in another crucial win for the Pelicans in the midst of a playoff push. New Orleans is peaking at the right time, winning eight of their last ten games. The Pelicans currently sit as the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture, which would put them in the play-in tournament.
With two games left in the regular season, the Pelicans have a chance to get a guaranteed spot in the playoffs by reaching the sixth seed. They are one game behind the fifth-seeded Golden State Warriors entering Thursday’s action.
It’s not every day that something never before seen happens in the NBA, or sports in general. It’s even rarer when something happens for the first time and is repeated on the same day.
Ironically enough, the Pelicans will welcome the Knicks to New Orleans on Friday. Maybe history will repeat itself again.
