Murphy leads under-manned Pelicans past Mavericks, 113-111

NEW ORLEANS — Trey Murphy III couldn’t miss, Jose Alvarado set a fiery tone from the opening tip and eight Pelicans players scored more than 10 points apiece.

With Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson out of the lineup, that was the type of all-hands-on-deck effort that short-handed New Orleans sought.

Murphy hit all eight of his shots for 22 points and New Orleans overcame Luka Doncic’s latest prolific performance to beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-111 on Tuesday night.

“It was fun game, man. Everybody was involved — a lot of great energy on the court, a lot of great energy on the bench,” Murphy said. “I love being part of this team because everybody understands it’s a we-score mentality. … We’re just super proud.”

The Pelicans entered the game missing two of their top three scorers in Ingram (concussion protocol) and Williamson (hip bruise), as well as a third starter, Herb Jones (hyperextended knee), who is their top defensive player.

But a laundry list of players looked ready to contribute.

They included Australian rookie and first-round pick Dyson Daniels, who scored his first career points on a jump hook in the second quarter and finished with 11 points in 22 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting.

“They believed in me and I got my opportunity tonight,” Daniels said. “I went out there and took it.

“Obviously we don’t want guys going down, but we’ve got a deep roster,” Daniels continued. “It was good to get out there with the boys and everyone played together, played the right way, played hard.”

Murphy’s production included four 3s and some baskets on the drive, including a soaring dunk in the third quarter and a tip-in with six minutes to go.

Naji Marshall scored 15 points in a spot start. CJ McCollum and Devonte Graham each scored 14 points, with McCollum also assisting on 11 baskets. Jonas Valanciunas and Jose Alvarado each scored 13 and Larry Nance Jr. also scored 11 points.

Doncic scored 37 to go with 11 rebounds and seven assists, but his 3-point attempt at the final horn bounce off the front rim.

“I probably should have gotten a better look, but it’s fine,” Doncic said. “It’s hard with 2 seconds (left) to take a layup … so that’s why I took the (perimeter) shot.”

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points for Dallas and former Pelican Christian Wood scored 23.

“We got comfortable and played down to our competition,” Wood said.

Dallas led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter when Wood’s 3 made it 97-91. New Orleans responded with a 7-0 run capped by McCollum’s step-back jumper from 16 feet to take the lead and the game remained tight from there.