Trey Murphy III's scoring outburst shows how dangerous Pelicans can be in playoffs

 Pelicans PR also noted via social media that Murphy became the first player in franchise history to have three games with nine or more makes from beyond the arc.

TSN Sports' Keerthika Uthayakuma shared that the 10 made threes are also the most for a single player against the Raptors in franchise history.

New Orleans (37-25, fifth in Western Conference) has won its last two games by a combined 68 points, and it's no coincidence that its back-to-back blowouts have coincided with Murphy rediscovering his touch.

During a five-game stretch from Feb. 12-25, Murphy shot 25% from deep, but in his last four games, he's 53.3% from three-point range.

The Pelicans are fifth this season in three-point percentage (37.9%), so it isn't as though they're relying solely on Murphy for outside scoring. But when he's aggressive and making his shots, the Pelicans are extremely tough to beat.

Per "The Bird Writes," New Orleans has won nearly 75% of its games the past two seasons when Murphy attempts at least 12 field goals.

He provides valuable spacing for Brandon Ingram to operate from midrange and Zion Williamson to attack the paint, giving both a kick-out option to prevent defenses from collapsing on them.

With only 20 games remaining in the regular season, Murphy's hitting his stride at the perfect time.

That will bode well for New Orleans as, in Murphy's own words, it pushes "to be in the playoffs and not the play-in." The Pelicans haven't finished in the top six in the Western Conference since 2018, when they reached the conference semifinals after a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers.

For the past two seasons, they've reached the play-in tournament, making the playoffs in 2021-22 but losing to the Thunder in the No. 9-No. 10 game last year.

New Orleans has a higher ceiling than that. When Murphy's shot drops, it opens up many things for the Pelicans' offense. It also makes them a team others should want to avoid.