Bucks overcome a 44-point game by Trey Murphy III and beat Pelicans 141-137 in OT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Rollins scored 27 points and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a brilliant performance from Trey Murphy III to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-137 in overtime Wednesday night.

Murphy scored a career-high 44 points and shot 12 of 19 from 3-point range. His 12 3-pointers matched the fifth-highest, single-game total in NBA history. The single-game record belongs to Klay Thompson, who had 14 for Golden State against Chicago on Oct. 29, 2018.

The teams shot a combined 45 of 93 from 3-point range, with New Orleans 24 of 46 and Milwaukee 21 of 47. The Bucks shot a season-best 60.9% overall.

The Bucks pulled ahead for good by scoring the first five points of overtime, on a Rollins driving layup and a Myles Turner 3-pointer. New Orleans trailed 139-137 when Zion Williamson was called for an offensive foul just before Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer that would have put the Pelicans ahead with 6.5 seconds left in overtime.

Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. then hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining. Porter had 18 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his return after missing six game with an oblique strain.

AJ Green scored 20 points for Milwaukee. Bey had 22 points and Williamson 20 for New Orleans.

Milwaukee appeared to take the lead on Myles Turner’s tiebreaking corner 3-pointer with 5.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but a replay review determined his left heel was out of bounds before he took the shot.

The Bucks won for a second straight night after snapping a five-game skid with a 131-115 victory over Chicago on Tuesday. The Bucks haven't won more than two consecutive games at any point this season.

Milwaukee remained without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hasn’t played since straining his right calf on Jan. 23. Antetokounmpo, the subject of widespread trade rumors, watched from Milwaukee's bench on the night before the trade deadline.

Pelicans: Visit Minnesota on Friday.

Bucks: Host Indiana on Friday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Milwaukee Bucks' Amir Coffey shoots past New Orleans Pelicans' Karlo Matkovic during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Amir Coffey tries to get past New Orleans Pelicans' Yves Missi during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma and New Orleans Pelicans' Herbert Jones go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Kevin Porter Jr. gets past New Orleans Pelicans' Saddiq Bey during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Amir Coffey grabs a loose ball in front of New Orleans Pelicans' Yves Missi during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee law has eased up on two longstanding financial hurdles for people with felony sentences who want their voting rights back, including a unique requirement among states that they must have fully paid their child support costs.

The Republican-supermajority Legislature approved the Democratic-sponsored change, which now lets people prove they have complied for the last year with child support orders, such as payment plans. The legislation also unties the payment of all court costs from voting rights restoration.

Advocates for years have sought various changes to Tennessee’s voting rights restoration system at the statehouse and in court. They say loosening these two rules marks the biggest rollback of restrictions to voting rights restoration in decades.

“This is huge and this is history,” said Keeda Haynes, senior attorney for the advocacy group Free Hearts led by formerly incarcerated women like her.

Most Republicans voted for it and Democrats supported it unanimously. The law took effect immediately upon Republican Gov. Bill Lee's signature last week.

“I think people are at a point where they want to just remove the barriers out of the way and allow people to be fully functional members of society,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Karen Camper, a bill sponsor.

In 2023 and early 2024, the state shelved a paperwork process that didn’t require going to court and decided gun rights were required to restore the right to vote. Election officials said a court ruling made the changes necessary, though voting rights advocates said officials misinterpreted the order.

Last year, lawmakers untangled voting and gun rights. But voting rights advocates opposed some of the bill's other provisions, such as keeping the process in the courts, where costs can rack up if someone isn't ruled indigent.

Easing up on the financial requirements uncommonly split legislative Republicans. For instance, Senate Speaker Randy McNally voted against it, while House Speaker Cameron Sexton supported it, noting that people aren't getting forgiveness on making their payments.

“They need to continue paying that, and as long as they do, then there’s a possibility (to restore their voting rights)," Sexton said. "I really think that’s harder for people to argue against than maybe what something else was.”

Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett, who voted no, said in committee his vote would hinge on whether “there still can be an (child support) arrearage owed beyond that 12 months.”

For some, backed-up child support payments could reach hundreds or thousands of dollars, and court costs could be hundreds or thousands more, said Gicola Lane, Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote community partnership senior manager.

Advocates credited their narrowed focus, omitting goals such as automatic restoration of rights, no longer tying restitution payments to voting rights, or offering a path for certain people to restore their right who are permanently disenfranchised, including those convicted of voter fraud or most murder charges.

The bill passed the Senate last year and the House this year.

Lawmakers gave the child support requirement final passage in 2006 within an overhaul bill that also created a voting rights restoration process outside of court. Critics said the child support rule penalized impoverished parents.

Democrats were then narrowly hanging onto legislative leadership in both chambers. Republicans held a slim Senate majority but GOP defectors voted for a Democratic speaker.

Last year marked the dismissal of a nearly five-year-old federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s voting-rights restoration system. Free Hearts and the Campaign Legal Center represented plaintiffs in the long-delayed case, which saw some election policy changes along the way.

Roughly 184,000 people have completed supervision for felonies and their offenses don't preclude them from restoring their voting rights, according to a plaintiffs expert’s 2023 estimate in the lawsuit. About one in 10 were estimated to have outstanding child support payments, and more than six in 10 owed court courts, restitution or both, the expert said.

Both Republican and Democratic-led states have eased the voting rights restoration process in recent years. Some states have added complexities.

In Florida, after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions, the Republican-controlled Legislature watered that down by requiring payment of fines, fees and court costs.

Voting rights are automatically restored upon release in nearly half of states. In 15 others, it occurs after parole, probation or a similar period and sometimes requires paying outstanding court costs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Maine and Vermont, people with felonies keep their voting rights in prison, the NCSL says.

Ten other states including Tennessee require additional government action. Virginia ’s governor must intervene to restore voting rights of people convicted of felonies. In some states, including Tennessee, certain conviction types render someone ineligible.

However, Virginia lawmakers this year have passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to ask voters whether they want automatic voting rights restoration after someone is released from prison. Kentucky lawmakers have proposed a similar change for voters' consideration that would automatically restore voting rights after certain completed sentences, including probation.

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen, Jan. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)