NEW ORLEANS (AP) 鈥� New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray left the Pelicans鈥� game against Boston in the first quarter Friday night with an , and the team was bracing to be without him for an extended period once again.
Pelicans coach Willie Green said he saw Murray briefly after the game, which . Murray suffered a non-contact injury and was grabbing in the area of his right Achilles tendon before hobbling to the bench.
鈥淚t's a challenge. It's a challenge,鈥� Green said. 鈥淚'll leave it at that.鈥�
Green did not provide a diagnosis of the injury, only saying that Murray 鈥� who missed 17 games earlier this season with a broken hand 鈥� would get some imaging. 鈥淲e'll have an update after that,鈥� Green said.
While not disclosing what Murray said, Jose Alvarado said his injured teammate spoke to the group at halftime.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the toughest soldiers I know,鈥� Alvarado said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 so tough mentally 鈥� at least what he shows to us. He held his head high. He was waiting for us at halftime. He told us the news, and I think I shed a tear. He鈥檚 just so solid. He going to be our leader. I told him, 鈥業 send my prayers up to you.鈥欌��
Murray had driven into the lane and took a shot, then went to chase after his miss. But he fell to the court and grabbed at the area near his right foot. When he got up, he hobbled toward the nearby Pelicans bench.
鈥淚t hurt a lot, l can鈥檛 lie to you,鈥� said Trey Murphy III, who scored 40 points in the loss. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been through a lot already, and it doesn鈥檛 help. But a lot of times God puts you through situations in order to give you a bigger message. I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening right now. It鈥檚 not always easy to understand what he鈥檚 saying, but there always a reason.鈥�
Shortly after the injury, the Pelicans announced Murray would not return to the game.
鈥淓xtremely difficult, when you see a guy that means so much to our team and puts the work in go down like that,鈥� Green said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l continue to pray for him and see what happens once he gets the imaging.鈥�
The injury-riddled Pelicans were already playing without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones.
"Those are the challenges that we鈥檝e been going through pretty much all season," Green said.
The Pelicans (12-37) are next-to-last in the Western Conference and well out of the playoff picture. Losing Murray again would only add to a frustrating season that went horribly wrong for New Orleans.
鈥淲e'll make sure we continue to support him,鈥� Green said. 鈥淲e'll wait for the results, but whatever the case we'll make sure we're there to support him.鈥�
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