Heat at Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are running out of time to make a move in the Western Conference and can't afford to let the losing streak run any longer. The Pelicans will try to snap a three-game slide when they host the Miami Heat on Friday.
New Orleans is five games behind the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies in the West with 20 games remaining and has three other teams in front of it fighting for that spot after falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks in the last three contests. "We just need to figure out a way to continue to flourish on the offensive end," Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram told reporters after the 127-123 overtime loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday. "I think it's important for me to stay aggressive and look for my teammates and get to the rim. I think everybody has to be consistent across the board in what they do." Miami is riding a four-game winning streak but is embarking on a two-game trip and has dropped three straight and six of seven away from home, due in part to a leaky defense. "It still feels like we have a lot of time before the playoffs, and we have a lot of ground to cover," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "I want to see us get to another level of consistency."
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN, FS Sun, FS New Orleans
ABOUT THE HEAT (40-22): Miami can withstand some defensive issues thanks to its offense, which drained a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in a 116-113 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Rookie guard Duncan Robinson led the way with nine of those 3-pointers and scored all 27 of his points from beyond the arc. "I just think the body and ball movement is the key to those 3-point looks," Heat forward Jae Crowder told the Miami Herald. "I feel like we do a good job of moving without the ball. We do a good job of moving the ball and I think that generates threes. We have good enough people that get into the paint and collapse the defense, and we're playing unselfish. I think you have to have an unselfish style of play to generate threes and generate looks. I think we have that, and it's been clicking for us lately."
ABOUT THE PELICANS (26-36): The hype surrounding rookie phenom Zion Williamson is overshadowing some of the quality work put in by the rest of the team, including point guard Lonzo Ball. The 22-year-old collected 25 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 40 minutes versus Dallas and knocked down seven 3-pointers for the second straight game. "When I'm open, just shoot it," Ball told reporters of his approach. "That's all it really comes down to. I've been putting the work in, now it's about translating it to the court. It's that simple."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat PG Goran Dragic went 5-of-9 from 3-point range on Wednesday and is averaging 18.8 points over the last six games.
2. Pelicans SG Kenrich Williams (back) is expected to return on Friday after sitting out the last two months.
3. Miami breezed to a 109-94 home win in the first meeting on Nov. 16.