The Miami Heat visited New Orleans on Friday night to face the Pelicans in a matchup that included major playoff implications. The Pelicans came into the matchup in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 30-27 record and had won three consecutive games, all of which came against playoff-worthy teams. However, they would be without Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson for the third-straight game. The Heat entered as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference despite their 25-31 record. Miami had won three out of four games since the All-Star break, their only loss coming last Saturday against the Pelicans.
It was a back and forth contest from the beginning as the Heat led 25-24 after the first quarter. Goran Dragic led the Heat with 12 points in the opening quarter as he made 6-of-8 field goal attempts. Quincy Pondexter had a strong first quarter for the Pelicans as well as he scored nine points.
The story of the second quarter for the Heat was the play of two players currently on 10-day contracts, Michael Beasley and Henry Walker. The former Kansas State Wildcat teammates combined to score the first 13 points of the quarter for Miami. For the Pelicans, an eight-point quarter by big man Alexis Ajinca helped them get to halftime tied at 54.
Hassan Whiteside set the tone for Miami in the third quarter as he recorded eight points, four rebounds, and one block. The Heat took their biggest lead of the game with just over 30 seconds left in the quarter as they led 82-72. Dante Cunningham would make one of two free throws for the Pelicans to make it an 82-73 score going into the final quarter. Luol Deng had 20 points at this point in the game, Miami came into the game 9-0 when Deng scored 20-plus.
The Heat struggled to maintain the lead as they couldn't stop Ajinca throughout the fourth quarter. Before the quarter even reached the nine-minute mark, Ajinca had scored six points, the Pelicans had trimmed the deficit to four points, and the Heat were already in the bonus. Two free throws by Ajinca with just under six minutes left tied the game at 88. The teams continued to trade leads throughout the remainder of the fourth quarter. With 1:23 remaining Tyreke Evans fouled out with 19 points and 11 assists, with the game tied at 100. The following possession Dwyane Wade assisted a Hassan Whiteside dunk to give the Heat a 2-point lead. On the following two possessions for New Orleans, Eric Gordon dished out two assists on two pick-and-rolls to Alexis Ajinca, putting the Pelicans up by two with 26 seconds remaining. The Heat then attempted a pick-and-roll of their own, but Whiteside was denied by Omer Asik. However, Asik followed the block and rebound by throwing the ball out of bounds while attempting to get it to Eric Gordon. Dwyane Wade had a chance to tie the game for Miami or take the lead with a three, but Wade failed to sink the three point attempt with two seconds left in regulation. The Pelicans held on to win 104-102.
Alexis Ajinca led the way for New Orleans with 24 points, while making 90 percent of his shots. He also added eight rebounds and three blocks. Eric Gordon added 20 points and eight assists, as Quincy Pondexter scored 18 points. The win puts the Pelicans at 31-27. A tough loss for the Heat means they fall to 25-32. It was the Heat’s first loss while Deng scored 20-plus, he finished the game with 22 points. It's their second loss since adding Goran Dragic, who scored 20 points on nine layups. Hassan Whiteside put together another promising performance as he scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and swatted four blocks.