NBA Notes: Pelicans, Dejounte Murray, Lakers, Deandre Ayton, Nuggets

Pelicans

Asked over the weekend whether he expects Dejounte Murray to play at any point this season, Pelicans coach James Borrego wasn’t ready to commit.

“I can’t say for sure,” Borrego told reporters, including Rod Walker of NOLA.com.

That said, Borrego sounded encouraged by Murray’s recovery from an Achilles tear and suggested clarity could be coming soon.

“He’s making a lot of progress,” Borrego said. “We hope to get him back in our building here soon. In the next month we’ll have a little bit more clarity on where he’s at.”

Murray has yet to appear this season after suffering the injury late last year.

Lakers

After being benched for the fourth quarter Friday, Deandre Ayton delivered a strong response in Sunday’s rematch with Memphis.

Ayton finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and coach JJ Redick said the team made a conscious effort to get him more involved after his frustration showed earlier in the weekend.

“He was great throughout the game,” Redick said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “That was good for him to touch the basketball and feel like he’s part of the offense. That’s the reality of being a big. Someone has to pass you the ball.”

Ayton had been vocal internally after feeling marginalized offensively Friday.

Nuggets

The Nuggets followed an ugly loss in Brooklyn with a response few saw coming.

After calling Sunday’s effort “embarrassing” and “unprofessional,” coach David Adelman sat all five regular starters Monday in Philadelphia for the second night of a back-to-back. The makeshift lineup responded by stunning the 76ers 125-124 in overtime, as detailed by The Athletic’s Tony Jones.

Jalen Pickett led the way with a career-high 29 points in 42 minutes. Zeke Nnaji added 21 points and eight rebounds, while Hunter Tyson chipped in 14 points.

The showing was a major boost for a team trying to tread water without Nikola Jokic.

“We’re in survival mode,” Adelman said.

General manager Jon Wallace echoed that sentiment before the game.

“We don’t want to take too much of a fall in the standings,” Wallace told The Athletic. “We have enough guys and enough leaders to hold the line until we get back to full strength.”

There was more good news on Jokic as well. Team sources told Jones that Denver feels optimistic about his recovery from a hyperextended knee and hopes he’ll return by the All-Star break at the latest.