,'' said Miami center Bam Adebayo. ''We weren't getting the 50-50 balls.'' POTENTIAL SCRIMMAGESAlvin Gentry said he can understand why the NBA might be considering playing games with no spectators in the arena if the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic gets worse. ''I'll give you an example - I went five places today to buy hand sanitizer, and there's none in the whole town, really,'' he said. ''I think people are scared. It wouldn't surprise me if that did happen. . it's one of those situations where we all got to be careful.'' TIP-INSHeat: F Jae Crowder took an elbow to the jaw from Zion Williamson in the first half and missed the rest of the game. . Rookie G Tyler Herro missed the game with right ankle soreness. . Backup C Meyers Leonard sat out with a sprained left ankle.Pelicans: No. 1 pick Zion Williamson's 13-game streak of scoring at least 20 points was snapped. . The Pelicans had lost four of five coming in, but now face a four-game road trip (Minnesota, Sacramento, Utah and the LA Clippers). . Alvin Gentry won his first challenge of the season when he stopped the clock and the refs agreed that Bam Adebayo struck Derrick Favors in the jaw on his way to layup. A potential 3-point play was nullified. ''It was a good feeling,'' Gentry said. ''It took 66 games to get it. That one was pretty obvious. If we had lost that one, I was not going to challenge any more the rest of the year.'' UP NEXTHeat: Visit Washington on Sunday night.Pelicans: Visit Minnesota on Sunday night.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Mar 05, 2020The Miami Heat are coming off a record-setting 3-point shooting performance. Now comes a New Orleans team that has been burned by opponents' 3-point shooting during a three-game losing streak.The teams will meet up for the second and final time this season Friday night in New Orleans.The Heat made 22 of 44 3-pointers in a 116-113 home victory against Orlando on Wednesday, surpassing the 21 they made against Charlotte during the 2016-17 season.Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 27 points, which came on 9-of-12 shooting from long range."My teammates encouraged me to shoot," said Robinson, who is three 3-pointers shy of breaking Wayne Ellington's single-season franchise record of 227."The coaching staff encourages me to shoot, so I just went out and tried to be aggressive." The Heat are second in the NBA in 3-point percentage (38.5). The game against the Magic marked the fifth game this season in which Miami made at least 18 3-pointers while shooting better than 45.0 percent on 3-pointers.After losing to Minnesota to start a five-game homestand, the Heat won the next four games to solidify their hold on fourth-place in the tightly bunched Eastern Conference playoff race.They started the streak with wins against Dallas, Brooklyn and Milwaukee. They visit Washington on Sunday to conclude this two-game road trip."It still feels like we have a lot of time before the playoffs, and we have a lot of ground to cover," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I want to see us get to another level of consistency." The Heat defeated an injury-depleted New Orleans team 109-94 on Nov. 16 in Miami. That was another record-setting game for Miami, which committed the fewest fouls (six) in a game in franchise history. The Heat also enjoyed a 45-31 rebounding advantage in the win.The Pelicans are a much different team than they were back then, when they finished that game with just eight healthy players as guard Jrue Holiday was the only healthy starter to start and finish the game.Among the players who were hurt but and are healthy now is rookie forward Zion Williamson, who has scored 20-plus points in 13 consecutive games.Williamson had 21 points in 35 minutes of a 127-123 overtime loss at Dallas on Wednesday. He was playing back-to-back games for the first time, having scored 25 points in a home loss to Minnesota on Tuesday."I think my game is progressing," Williamson said. "Still getting my legs under me, just learning the game. The NBA, these are the best players in the world. They're smart. They have high IQs for the game. They have scouting reports, so I think it's just bringing something new to the table every game." Dallas took the lead for good when Luka Doncic made a 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the game. New Orleans' opponents during the losing streak, which began with a 122-114 home loss to the Lakers on Sunday, have made 38 3-pointers and shot 39 percent on 3-pointers.The Pelicans said the defensive effort against Dallas was much better than it was in the 139-134 loss to Minnesota."It was an improvement, but we've been better defensively. I've been better defensively," said All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, who scored a team-high 27 points before fouling out in overtime. "Everybody has to do a little bit better on the defensive end." --Field Level Media
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