Dragic pushes Heat past Pelicans
MIAMI -- Goran Dragic came back from an eye injury to score 33 points as the Miami Heat defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 120-112 on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Dragic missed the Heat's Sunday loss at Indiana after he got elbowed in the right eye by Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph in Miami's previous game. Dragic had his right eye swollen shut on Sunday but made a quick recovery.
Against New Orleans, Dragic made 11 of 18 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 3-point attempts. It was his sixth 30-plus-points performance of the season, and he finished was one point short of his season high.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 20 points and 17 points. Reserve guard Wayne Ellington had 19 points.
Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis, who injured his right ankle in New Orleans' Tuesday game against Portland, had 27 points and eight rebounds Wednesday. He sustained a bloody left arm in the second quarter, but that didn't slow him down much.
The Heat (33-35) improved to 22-5 in their past 27 games, continuing their bid for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
New Orleans, an extreme long shot for a playoff berth, had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Pelicans (27-41) are 4-7 since acquiring star center DeMarcus Cousins in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.
Cousins had 19 points and nine rebounds. He played just 8:28 in the first quarter, leaving after being called on a questionable offensive foul while tangled up with Whiteside. Cousins was also hit with his 20th technical foul of the season when he argued the call.
In the second period, Cousins played just 48 seconds because he was charged with his third foul. He wound up playing 30 minutes.
Early on, Miami led by as many as 10 points, settling for a 28-21 edge after the first quarter. Dragic had 12 points in the period, and the Heat shot 52.4 percent from the floor. New Orleans was outrebounded by seven boards and shot just 32 percent from the floor.
The Heat extended its lead to 14 points in the second quarter, but New Orleans responded with a 15-2 run. The Heat, who never trailed in the first half, held onto a slight lead at the break, 54-52. New Orleans' Davis' had 10 points in the second quarter to help change the game's momentum.
A basket by Cousins with 11:10 left in the third quarter gave New Orleans its first lead of the night, and the Pelicans stretched their advantage to seven points. But Dragic scored 16 points in the third, helping Miami take an 85-79 lead into the fourth. New Orleans shot 52.9 percent in the third.
The Heat held on in the fourth, finishing with 50.6 accuracy from the floor for the game. the Pelicans shot 47.7 percent for the game.
NOTES: Miami is 1-8 when PG Goran Dragic sits out. ... Pelicans C Omer Asik, who has started 19 games this season, is out with a bacterial infection. ... The Heat play their next four at home, starting with a Friday visit by the Minnesota Timberwolves. ... The Pelicans return home to begin a three-game homestand, starting with a game against the Houston Rockets on Friday.