Celtics Edge Pelicans in Thriller, But Dejounte Murray’s Injury Casts a Shadow

The Boston Celtics walked out of the Smoothie King Center with a dramatic 118-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, but the biggest story of the evening wasn’t the scoreboard—it was the devastating loss of Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray to injury.

Jayson Tatum played the hero, sinking a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to cap off a 27-point performance, while Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with 28. But on the other side, New Orleans' Trey Murphy III put on a show of his own, exploding for a career-high 40 points. Jose Alvarado added 20 off the bench in a game that saw the Pelicans push the Eastern Conference’s top team to the limit.

However, any excitement over the tightly contested battle was overshadowed by a brutal injury just minutes into the first quarter. Murray, driving to the basket on a routine play, suddenly pulled up in visible pain, clutching his lower leg. The arena fell silent as medical staff helped him off the court. Hours later, the worst was confirmed: a torn Achilles tendon, ending his season and dealing a crushing blow to a Pelicans squad already navigating injuries to Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, and Brandon Ingram.

Murray, who had been averaging 17.9 points, 7.6 assists, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game, was expected to be a stabilizing force in the Pelicans’ backcourt. Now, New Orleans is left scrambling for answers in the midst of a heated playoff race.

“He means everything to this team,” head coach Willie Green said postgame. “We’re heartbroken for him. We’ll rally around him, but it’s tough.”

For the Celtics, the win strengthens their grip on the Eastern Conference’s top seed, but for the Pelicans, an already lost season just started to threaten future as well.