Report: Pelicans' Dejounte Murray broke hand in opener

Dejounte Murray broke his left hand during his New Orleans Pelicans debut on Wednesday, ESPN reported.

The 28-year-old guard produced 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Pelicans beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 123-111. The injury apparently occurred with 2:21 to play in the fourth quarter and New Orleans up by 12.

Murray attempted a 3-pointer, was fouled by Zach LaVine and fell to the floor. He appeared to be in some discomfort as he was helped up -- by his right arm -- then went to the foul line and made 2 of 3 attempts.

Murray was substituted out of the game with a minute left and the Pelicans leading by 15. He did not speak with reporters postgame.

"Hopefully, he's not out too long," Pelicans guard CJ McCollum said. "He looked at me and said his hand didn't feel right. He just continued to play. ... He battled through, he played and played well considering those circumstances."

Murray started for New Orleans and played 30 minutes in his first game since he was acquired from Atlanta in a July trade. The Hawks received Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller and two first-round draft picks.

The Spurs selected Murray in the first round of the 2016 draft out of the University of Washington, and he remained in San Antonio through the 2021-22 season -- his only All-Star campaign.

He was dealt to Atlanta in July 2022.

Last season, Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points to go with 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists. In 473 career games (402 starts), he has averages of 15.4 points, 5.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

--Field Level Media