The Miami Heat needed a win in the worst way after dropping one in Dallas in an abysmal shooting performance on Friday. Coming into a Sunday afternoon game against the New Orleans Pelicans though, it surely wouldn’t be easy.
While any afternoon game tends to be an intriguing one, for many reasons, there were also other factors in play. This was the same New Orleans Pelicans team that the Miami Heat had just beaten in the game before their last against Dallas.
And when you say “beaten”, that really means beaten. Dominating the game from start to finish, the Miami Heat would get out big and stay there for the entirety of the game, holding the Pelicans to under 100 points for just the second time all season in the process.
That last factor will be important as this chat concludes too though, so hold on to that one. With the Pelican certainly looking like they had the last matchup on their mind to start, they would blitz the Miami Heat early.
With the Miami Heat also still showing signs of offensive stagnancy and poor shooting themselves from their last game, it was seeming to make for another long game.
The Miami Heat went down big early to the Pelicans Sunday but closed the gap early. Kyle Lowry’s shot-making would help seal the deal late though.
Going down by 16 points with just under eight minutes to go in the first half, 25-41, it looked like it could get too far gone early for the Miami Heat squad.
But then they did what the Heat are supposed to do, they turned on the defensive pressure. And with that, they would hold the Pelicans to just six points for the rest of the period, while they were able to put some points up themselves to close the gap, 41-47.
From then on, it was any typical NBA game. Getting down to the final moments, the Miami Heat needed someone to step up and make some crucial shots for them down the stretch as the Pelicans were taking away other options.
And that’s when Kyle Lowry answered the call.
We saw vintage Kyle Lowry down the stretch. 4 straight buckets, 9 points in less than 2 minutes. pic.twitter.com/2f2lLxLOTp
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 22, 2023
Scoring nine straight points for the Miami Heat with under three minutes on the clock to go back and forth with the Pelicans, this was the pivotal stretch for them to win this game. After a few sideline and ball entry semantics, the game was over.
The Miami Heat would escape this one with a win, again holding the Pelicans under 100 points, the only team to do it twice this year, and for just the third time for them all year. This was a good win for the Miami Heat coming off their dud in Dallas.
There’s also the fact that seeing Kyle Lowry make some key shots is never a bad thing. Boston awaits on Tuesday though and you hope they’re ready to go scrap out another needed win.