The Miami HEAT fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 105-91 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Mario Chalmers led the way for the HEAT with 20 points.
Impact Performance of the Night: Mario Chalmers picked up where he left off Friday night against the Knicks and started off the game very aggressively. He hit some tough shots from outside, which kept the HEAT in the game early on. Chalmers also came through with some uncharacteristic dunks that brought the crowd to their feet. In addition to scoring, he displayed his great chemistry with Chris Andersen and fed him with some nice passes throughout the game. Chalmers connected on his first seven field goals and finished the game with 20 points and two assists.
The Deciding Run: The Pelicans went on a 16-4 run to take a 68-46 lead with 8:33 left in the third quarter. The HEAT mounted a comeback later in the quarter thanks to Goran Dragic, but it unfortunately wasn’t enough.
Earlier, Miami went on a 10-2 run to cut New Orleans’ lead to 47-41 with 1:27 left in the second quarter. Hassan Whiteside started to get going during the run.
Play of the Game: With 10:48 left in the second quarter, Chris Andersen came up with a loose ball. He then launched it with one arm all the way down court to Mario Chalmers. Chalmers then threw it down with one hand to cut New Orleans’ lead to 25-19.
Another nice play came with 1:35 to go in the first half when Goran Dragic made a heads-up play and swiped the inbound pass. Dwyane Wade ended up with the ball at the top of the key and ran the pick-and-roll with Hassan Whiteside. Wade then threw up a lob to Whiteside, who finished the alley-oop to cut the Pelicans’ lead to 47-41.
Lastly, with 37 seconds to go in the first quarter, Mario Chalmers drove inside after Chris Andersen set him a screen at the right wing. Andersen rolled to the basket and Chalmers found him for the huge alley-oop to cut New Orleans’ lead to 22-12.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 95.9; Defensive Efficiency: 106.4
Trend to Watch: The Dwyane Wade-to-Hassan Whiteside connection was in full effect once more on Saturday night. Three of Wade’s four assists were to Whiteside, as the duo came through like it did against the Knicks. Wade has always had a good rapport with traditional big men and it’s been good to see once more with Whiteside. Wade finished the game with 19 points and four rebounds to go along with his four assists. Whiteside, meanwhile, had yet another double-double with 11 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.
The Takeaway: Whenever a team acquires a new player, there usually is a transition period. In the first half, Goran Dragic had a slow start and eased his way into things. However, the dynamic point guard started to HEAT up in the third quarter, where he scored 10 of his 12 points. Dragic’s play-making ability and speed was on display, as he aggressively took it to the rim often against New Orleans. With more playing time both in-game and on the practice court, things should get easier for Dragic.
Unfortunately for Miami, Eric Gordon got hot in the second half on Saturday night and knocked down plenty of outside shots that helped propel the Pelicans to victory. Up next for the HEAT are the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Game Highlights: