Warriors Vs Pelicans: Dejounte Murray’s Complex Return and Player Grades After a 113-109 Result

The latest coverage of Warriors Vs Pelicans centers on a 113-109 game in which New Orleans prevailed and several individual stories intersected: Moses Moody and De’Anthony Melton produced notable scoring efforts for Golden State, the Warriors were missing several key names, and Dejounte Murray’s season-long saga of injury and personal hardship featured prominently in the narrative.

Warriors Vs Pelicans: final score, flow and context

The Golden State Warriors fell 113-109 to the New Orleans Pelicans. The game featured a very ugly first half for the Warriors, who struggled to score early and looked at risk of getting blown out before mounting a second-half comeback that briefly gave them the lead. Down the stretch the Warriors lost their rhythm and the Pelicans took control in the final moments.

Contextual notes from the game: the Pelicans were described both as "a very bad Pelicans team" and as being "fairly healthy" for the matchup, and the Pelicans welcomed Dejounte Murray back after more than a year on the sidelines. The Warriors were notably shorthanded and were playing without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Al Horford. The game raised questions about which squad should have been favored given those circumstances.

Dejounte Murray: injuries, personal setbacks and the path back

Dejounte Murray’s situation is presented in detail: after more than a year away due to injury, he is described as back with a fresh perspective. His arrival in New Orleans followed a June 2024 trade when the Atlanta Hawks sent him to New Orleans, creating early excitement about the possibility of forming a trio with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Personal and medical setbacks compounded quickly. A week before his first game of the 2024-25 season his mother had a stroke; he flew to see her in Seattle, where he grew up, and she could barely speak and was helpless in the hospital. In the first game he broke his left hand, underwent surgery and missed 17 games. Then in January 2025 he suffered a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon. Those events led Murray to describe a period in New Orleans as "literally the worst three months of my professional career on and off the floor, " and he said he was never able to focus on basketball during that stretch.

His background is traced to being drafted at the end of the first round by the Spurs in 2016, steadily improving through his career and earning an All-Star nod with San Antonio in 2022. He was traded to Atlanta in June 2022 with an expectation of forming a backcourt with Trae Young; his production remained high in Atlanta though the team never took off. The narrative emphasizes resilience: Murray has described heavy emotional periods during his time in New Orleans, but also a lifetime of overcoming obstacles that forced him to develop resilience from a young age.

The reporting notes a year-long rehab journey from one of the toughest injuries in sports, and that a medical professional questioned his ability to bounce back at all. One contextual sentence states that "Murray is probable to return Tuesday for the Pelicans’ game against the Golden S" — unclear in the provided context.

Player grades and individual performances

Player grades were offered for the Warriors’ performance in the 113-109 loss, with a grading scale that treats a "B" as average for the player’s expectations. Notable individual stat lines and takeaways from the coverage include:

• Moses Moody — 34 minutes, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 7-for-13 shooting, 4-for-10 threes, 6-for-8 free throws, 72. 6% true-shooting, +13. Assessment: Moody stepped up, used his jump shot threat to attack, drew eight free throws, and earned a grade of A. Post-game note: best plus/minus on the team.
• Gui Santos — 39 minutes, 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 6 turnovers, 5 fouls, 6-for-13 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 54. 0% true-shooting, -7. Assessment: relentless energy led to high activity and value on rebounds and defense, but turnovers and fouls were costly; overall a chaotic game with more good than harm.
• Dray — 32 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50. 0% true-shooting, +8. Assessment: solid defensive game on Zion Williamson (who scored 26 points on 21 shots plus five free throws) and useful playmaking; grade B+ and led the team in assists.
• De’Anthony Melton — 28 minutes, 28 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 8-for-21 shooting, 3-for-10 threes, 9-for-11 free throws, 54. 2% true-shooting, +9. Assessment: Melton carried much of the early scoring load and repeatedly provided buckets when others could not.

Efficiency context and closing outlook

True-shooting percentage was used as an efficiency metric in the grading; the coverage noted a league-average true-shooting of 57. 9% entering Tuesday’s games. The game highlighted how individual surges from Moody and Melton kept the Warriors competitive despite a depleted rotation, but the combination of early offensive struggles and late-game loss of rhythm allowed the Pelicans to secure the 113-109 victory.

Uncertainties in the context remain around the exact timing and opponent referenced for Murray’s probable return, which is unclear in the provided context. Other details presented here are drawn directly from the provided game and player coverage and from the profile of Dejounte Murray’s recent personal and medical history.