Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Postgame Grades and Analysis
In a crucial contest between two teams on the postseason bubble, the New Orleans Pelicans were able to come away on top against the Miami Heat, winning 104-102.
It was a tight matchup all the way through, though Miami led the entire fourth quarter—until the final minute. Alexis Ajinca finished off his career-high scoring night with a go-ahead bucket under the rim, giving New Orleans its first lead of the quarter. It was the only one they needed.
Without Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson, the Pels needed key role players to step up, and they got exactly that on Friday.
| Goran Dragic | B |
| Dwayne Wade | B |
| Luol Deng | B |
| Hassan Whiteside | B+ |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Tyreke Evans | A- |
| Eric Gordon | B |
| Quincy Pondexter | B+ |
| Omer Asik | A |
| Rest of Team | C+ |
Miami Heat
Goran Dragic: B
The new Miami point guard got off to a blazing start with 10 points in the game's first 10 minutes—all of which came at the rim—though he couldn't find a real groove thereafter. He finished well but couldn't get many of his longer-range looks to go. He ended up with 20 points and five assists.
His effect on the Heat offense has been tremendous. Aside from putting up numbers, he's completely revitalized the team's pace, which had been hovering around last in the league. But in foul trouble against New Orleans, he wasn't able to dictate the second half as much as he had for Miami through his first three games.
Dwyane Wade: B
The Heat's focal point was curiously silent through the first half, going for just four points on five of the team's 42 shots. Early foul trouble had him sitting for a decent part of the game's onset, but when he was on the floor, he was predominantly a facilitator, finishing with a team-high eight assists.
The latter portion of the game didn't provide many chances for Wade to shine individually. He finished with 4-of-15 shooting, bricking on all four of his attempts from long range. He did find Hassan Whiteside streaking down court on the team's final possession, before that attempt was swatted by Omer Asik. Wade then hoisted up one last desperation three-pointer, which missed by a hair.
Luol Deng: B
The Heat got off to a strong offensive start, and Luol Deng had a lot to do with it. He sank five of his first six shots, leading all scorers with 15 in the first half and finishing with a team-leading 22, including a key make to give the Heat a temporary lead in the closing minutes.
Deng has perhaps benefited the most from Dragic's arrival, averaging 19 points on 60 percent shooting in the three games with Dragic entering Friday night. But as Dragic's impact faded in the closing minutes, Deng's production waned as well. His impact in the fourth quarter came mainly off backing down his defender in the post.
Hassan Whiteside: B+
Hassan Whiteside did more Hassan Whiteside things against New Orleans, going for 16 points, seven boards and four blocks. After a pedestrian first half, the center picked it up and anchored the team defensively after the break.
He and Omer Asik had a number of non-verbal run-ins after the 25-year-old took exception to a few grabs and shoves under the rim. Whiteside picked up his scoring in the second half, asserting himself offensively against Asik instead of verbally. Asik had the last laugh, however, blocking Whiteside's potentially game-tying dunk in the closing seconds.
Rest of Team: B+
Michael Beasley made his long-awaited return to the Heat Friday and promptly drilled a three-pointer, along with a couple of other shots from the field, finishing with nine points, though generally looking like vintage, out-of-control Beas.
Henry Walker continued his hot shooting stretch with the team, landing four triples, five of his 11 attempts overall—including a few key makes in the final minutes—and finishing with 16 points over 27 minutes. He also drew a key charge in the final minutes on Tyreke Evans—his sixth foul of the night.
Mario Chalmers struggled much of the night in his new, reduced role, scoring just six points over his 24 minutes. Chris Andersen contributed two points and four rebounds. Udonis Haslem scored a pair in 15 minutes.
New Orleans Pelicans
Tyreke Evans: A-
With Jrue Holiday out of the lineup, Evans has needed to fill the void, along with Eric Gordon, for New Orleans. He did his part against Miami, going for 19 points and 11 assists.
He finished a number of buckets for the Pelicans in transition, stepping through defenders on the fastbreak to help counteract Goran Dragic's attack going the other way.
The key Friday night was Evans' playmaking—he finished with a team-high 11 assists, his 13th double-digit assist game of the season. Turnovers and fouls plagued him throughout, and he wasn't able to finish out the game for New Orleans, fouling out with 1:23 left in regulation.
Eric Gordon: B
Eric Gordon had a rough start to his shooting night, and it hurt the Pels while he was on the floor. He started 5-of-13 but made his final two attempts while the team was surging to take the lead. He was, however, a team-worst minus-five. He had 20 points.
He did make a decent number of his three-point attempts—four of six—and put in eight assists. Both he and Evans had trouble staying in front of Miami's guards, leading to several opportunities for Dragic and the various players benefiting from his creating. New Orleans needs more consistency from Gordon, especially with Holiday out of the lineup.
The Advocate's Scott Kushner shared head coach Monty Williams' comments, describing the Pelicans' fourth-quarter strategy:
Quincy Pondexter: B+
Coming off a career-high scoring night, Quincy Pondexter produced well again for the Pellies Friday. He wrapped up with 18 points (second-highest in his career only to Wednesday's output) and three rebounds over 33 minutes, though foul trouble plagued him as the second half wore on.
His jumper wasn't working, but he got to the rim successfully a number of times. He finished 7-of-11 from the floor altogether. Williams discussed the Pelicans' drawing on their past experience of playing in a "depleted" state, per Kushner:
Alexis Ajinca: A
Spelling Asik, Ajinca came off the bench to provide spectacular minutes. On 7-of-8 shooting, the backup center finished with a career-high 24 points, and seven boards, even making a couple of key passes down low to find teammates.
He managed to impact the game defensively without excessively fouling, going for three blocks with just two fouls. He found himself on the floor for key minutes late, finishing a number of crucial buckets under the rim.
Rest of Team: C+
Going up against Whiteside, Asik couldn't get anything going Friday. He had five points and nine rebounds over 26 minutes, though he did swat away a key Whiteside attempt in the final minute with the Pels on top, preserving the lead for good. Norris Cole described the necessity of this game and the lessons learned in order for the team to take its "next step," courtesy of Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com:
Norris Cole didn't help the bench's effort, going 0-of-10 from the field against his former team. Dante Cunningham posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, and Luke Babbit put up five points.
Up Next
The loss is crucial for Miami, which now falls to 25-32, just 1.5 games above the Indiana Pacers, who are seeded eighth as of Friday night. This was a painful one to drop, with the Atlanta Hawks looming on Saturday.
New Orleans is now just one game behind Oklahoma City for the West's eighth seed, before OKC's result against Portland Friday. They'll surely need to take advantage of their schedule while Kevin Durant is out of the Thunder lineup. Up next, they take on the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and then face the Dallas Mavericks before getting the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.
