Sports

/

ArcaMax

Jimmy Butler returns, Heat defeats struggling Pelicans to open homestand. Takeaways and details

Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald on

Published in Basketball

MIAMI — Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 119-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans (5-29) on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center to begin a back-to-back set and open a three-game homestand. The Heat (17-14) will complete the back-to-back on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers in Miami (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun):

The Heat took care of business against a struggling Pelicans squad to earn its fourth win in five games.

The Pelicans entered the contest on a 10-game losing skid and with losses in 19 of their last 10 games. In fact, the Pelicans’ lone road win of the season came in their road opener on Oct. 25 against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Heat took advantage, never trailing on the way to its ninth double-digit win of the season.

The Heat led by as many as 17 points in the first half before the Pelicans cut into the deficit to enter halftime trailing by five.

The Pelicans pulled within three points multiple times in the third quarter, but that’s the closest they would get. The Heat extended its lead to as large as 15 points in the fourth quarter.

The Heat received quality contributions from throughout its rotation, as five Heat players finished with double-digit points.

Tyler Herro again led the way with 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field, 5-of-12 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, one rebound and four assists in 40 minutes.

Bam Adebayo finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, closing with 23 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and two steals.

Duncan Robinson recorded 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range, four rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Jaime Jaquez added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists and two steals.

Kel’el Ware ended the night with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 shooting on threes, five rebounds, one assist and one block in 16 minutes.

The Heat’s offense was efficient and effective, shooting 53 percent from the field and 14 of 34 (41.2 percent) from three-point range in the victory.

For the Pelicans, Trey Murphy finished with a game-high 34 points.

Heat star Jimmy Butler played limited minutes in his first game in nearly two weeks.

Butler, who has been at the center of trade speculation in recent weeks, returned Wednesday after missing five straight games because of a stomach illness.

Butler played in his usual starting role, finishing with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 shooting on threes and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes. It marked his first game action since Dec. 20.

There were some signs of rust for Butler, as he didn’t make his first field goal of Wednesday’s game — a corner three-pointer — until there was 50.8 seconds left in the second quarter. Butler entered halftime with five points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, two rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.

But Butler only played nine minutes in the second half, with all of that playing time coming in the third quarter. After heading to the bench with 3:29 left in the third quarter, he did not re-enter the game.

With Butler returning, the Heat was able to go back to its preferred starting lineup.

 

During Butler’s five-game absence, the Heat rotated through three different starting lineups.

But with Butler back in the mix, the Heat went back to its go-to starting lineup of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo on Wednesday.

This lineup, which had started 12 of the 13 games before Butler went out because of a stomach illness, entered Wednesday outscoring opponents by a dominant 12.6 points per 100 possessions in 142 minutes together this season.

Among the 25 lineups around the NBA who entered Wednesday with at least 140 minutes played together this season, this Heat group held the fourth-best net rating.

That success continued early in Wednesday’s contest, as the Heat opened the game on a 22-11 run with this lineup on the court before turning to its bench for the first time with 5:07 left in the first quarter.

With its starting lineup back intact, the Heat used a bench rotation of Nikola Jovic, Alec Burks, Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. against the Pelicans.

Sunday’s scuffle in Houston forced one Heat rotation player to miss Wednesday’s game.

The NBA suspended Heat guard Terry Rozier without pay for his involvement in the late-game skirmish between the Heat and Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center. For the Rockets, Amen Thompson was suspended two games without pay.

Rozier was the only Heat player suspended after the incident, but Herro was fined $25,000 for his role in the altercation.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked if he was surprised by the punishments issued by the league following the dust-up. “At this point, what does it matter? … We’re past that now. We’ll deal with it.”

Rozier is expected back for the Heat’s next game, Thursday against the Pacers in Miami, after serving his one-game suspension on Wednesday.

Along with missing Rozier against the Pelicans, the Heat was without Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation) and Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery).

The Pelicans were without Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), Karlo Matkovic (low back disc protrusion), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (left ankle sprain) and Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) for Wednesday’s game in Miami.

The Pelicans entered the game with a lot more on their minds than a basketball game.

That’s because the Pelicans play their home games about one mile away from the intersection Bourbon Street and Canal Street, where a man driving a pickup truck killed at least 15 people and left dozens others injured early Wednesday by barreling his vehicle into them. The FBI is investigating the mass casualty attack as a potential “act of terrorism.”

“Devastating, obviously,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts go out to all the families that are impacted by, to be honest with you, a senseless act of violence. We discussed it a bit with our players, but we’re just living in times in a world where you just don’t know where you’re safe – schools, churches, people should be able to go out and have a good time and walk the streets. It’s devastating. I can only imagine what those families are going through and what they have to deal with now for the rest of their lives.”

The Pelicans return home after Wednesday’s game in Miami to host the Washington Wizards on Friday at Smoothie King Center.

“It’s terrifying,” Spoelstra said. “It’s horrific. Until we all find out more details, you just pray for all the families and for everybody that is experiencing loss. But the unknown also is terrifying.”

_____


©2025 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus