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Pelicans win after Davis, Anderson go down
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MIAMI — Sunday is a day off for the New Orleans Pelicans players — but not for their team doctors.
MRIs are scheduled on power forward Anthony Davis’ right shoulder and stretch forward Ryan Anderson’s right ankle, and those results could go a long way toward determining the fate of the Pelicans’ season.
For now, the Pelicans can quietly celebrate the end of their four-game losing streak and a 105-91 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday night at American Airlines Arena.
“When A.D. and Ryan went down, I didn’t see anyone buckle,” Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. “We beat a good team on their home floor.”
Davis collided with Heat center Hassan Whiteside with 3:07 left in the first quarter, causing a reaggravation of an existing injury. Davis, who finished with six points and six rebounds in nine minutes, had missed the NBA All-Star Game and two games before returning on Friday — only to get hurt again.
Anderson exited with 9:41 left in the second quarter when Heat guard Mario Chalmers came down on his right ankle. Anderson finished with four points.
The Pelicans, who never trailed, got a game-high 24 points from guard Eric Gordon, who made 6 of 11 3-point shots.
New Orleans also got a boost from backup point guard Norris Cole, who was acquired from Miami in a three-team trade on Wednesday. Cole had 12 points, three assists and one steal in 30 minutes.
“It was awkward at first (playing against Miami),” said Cole, who came out of college and made three straight NBA Finals while playing for the Heat. “I’m still figuring out the plays.”
New Orleans also got 15 points and nine rebounds from center Omer Asik and 13 points and six assists from guard Tyreke Evans.
That helped give New Orleans (28-27) a much-needed road victory, improving to 11-17 away from home. The Pelicans also snapped a four-game skid against teams with sub-.500 records.
The Pelicans’ win came on an emotional night for the Heat. Point guard Goran Dragic, an All-Star last year who was acquired by the Heat from Phoenix on Wednesday, had 12 points and one assist.
“I felt slow,” Dragic said. “I need to adjust to all the players because I’m new here.”
Dragic was scoreless in the first half with one turnover and no assists.
“It was tough,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know where to go. I’m probably the most critical toward myself, sometimes too much. I feel like I didn’t play well.”
Dragic’s arrival was somewhat overshadowed by the official news that forward Chris Bosh is lost for the season because of blood clots in his lungs.
“It’s a tough blow,” Chalmers said. “But more importantly, it’s about his health.”
Chalmers, who came off the bench on Saturday, led the Heat with 20 points.
With the loss, Miami (23-31) falls to 9-16 at home this season.
New Orleans started the game quickly, taking a 25-14 lead after the first quarter. The Pelicans led throughout the quarter and held the Heat to 25 percent shooting from the field.
The Pelicans led 52-42 at halftime despite an outburst by Chalmers. He had 16 of Miami’s 19 points during one stretch between the first and second quarter.
But the Heat struggled to finish in the paint, missing 10 shots within 5 feet during the first half.
New Orleans led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter. Gordon had 16 points in the third, making 5 of 7 shots from the field, including 4 of 4 on 3-pointers.
His outburst helped the Pelicans take an 85-65 lead heading into the fourth quarter and New Orleans cruised from there.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was a very emotional day, but we’re not going to make excuses.”
NOTES: Just five Heat players remain from last season’s roster, and one of those, F Chris Bosh, is out for the season (blood clots in his lungs). … Veteran F Udonis Haslem is starting for Bosh. Miami has lost two starting forwards to season-ending injuries, Bosh and Josh McRoberts. … New Heat PG Goran Dragic was an All-Star last year when he averaged 20.3 points for Phoenix, but he is scoring four points less per game this year. … Of the three players the Pelicans acquired from Miami on Wednesday, two were active on Saturday: PG Norris Cole and C Justin Hamilton. Cole scored 12 points in 29 minutes while Hamilton did not play. … The third, SF Shawne Williams, was put on the injured list. The Pelicans waived PG Ish Smith and G Toney Douglas to make room. … Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday, who has been out since Jan. 12 with a right leg injury, will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
