Trey Murphy has many talents.

He is the rare player who is an elite outside shooter and explosive dunker. He has great size for a small forward (he is 1.80 tall) and rarely turns the ball over.

One of Murphy’s skills that needs improvement is his handling ability. Murphy can dribble the ball occasionally, but he’s not the Pelicans’ best option when it comes to getting the ball up the court and initiating offense at critical moments.

That’s the position Murphy found himself in on Monday with about a minute left to play. He dribbled 31 times before missing a contested shot with 48 seconds left. Pelicans coach Willie Green had two timeouts but did not intervene to stop the chaos and set things up for his team.

The Pels shot 0 for 8 in the final 3:34. This was the worst possession for me. Trey Murphy’s 31 dribbles counted. There were two breaks. I haven’t used one to draw anything. pic.twitter.com/hWa4qXi2UI

— Christian Clark (@cclark_13) 12 November 2024

The Pelicans shot 0 for 8 from the field in the final 3 minutes, 34 seconds of Monday’s game. They lost to Brooklyn Nets 107-105.

“We had some tough possessions in the last three minutes,” Green said. “We were trying to get into a position where we could attack some of their weaker defenders. We were slow. They got their hands on us. Same story.”

The Pelicans are 3-8 after losing five straight games. They completed what should have been an easy part of their program. They’ve already lost twice this season to the Portland Trail Blazers, twice to the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry, and once to the Orlando Magic team without Paolo Banchero.

Their schedules are about to get a lot tougher.

The Pelicans will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, the Denver Nuggets on Friday and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Their next three games will be against the Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Warriors.

“Challenges are a part of life,” Green said. “We’re in this right now with the amount of guys we’re dropping. We don’t like it. Nobody in the NBA likes it. But it’s something you experience in the NBA.”

The Pelicans were ahead by four points with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter. Brandon Boston hit a miraculous 3-pointer from 27 feet and converted from the basket to give New Orleans a two-possession advantage.

Here’s what the Pelicans look like over the next eight possessions:

• I missed Ingram
• Missed by Javonte Green
• I missed Ingram
• I miss Boston
• I miss Murphy
• I miss Boston
• I missed Ingram
• green lady

The Pelicans had two go-ahead opportunities in the final 22 seconds of the game. Ingram attempted a contested running shot from 12 meters out but missed badly. On the Pelicans’ next possession, Ingram double-teamed Green for an open three-pointer, which Green missed badly.

“On three possessions, we shot the ball with three seconds left,” Ingram said. “Throw the ball up. We could have done better down the stretch.”

Late game execution is not a new problem. A season ago, the Pelicans ranked 26th in “clutch” offense (defined as having the score within five points in the final five minutes of the game). They traded point guard Dejounte Murray last summer to solve this problem.

Murray, who was injured, has not been able to play since October 23. Without him, the Pelicans’ collapse in recent games against the Nets was severe.

“We were trying to come up with an aggressive execution,” Ingram said. “We’ve got some new guys on the field. We just have to figure it out eventually. This isn’t the first game like this.”