Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans rebounds the ball against Norman Powell #24 of the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Kaseya Center on January 04, 2026 in Miami. Megan Briggs Getty Images
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 125-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans (8-29) on Sunday night at Kaseya Center on the second night of a back-to-back set to close a two-game homestand. The Heat (20-16) now hits the road to begin a four-game trip on Tuesday against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis:
The Heat bounced back from Saturday’s home loss to the Timberwolves to earn a much-needed win over a struggling Pelicans team before heading out on a challenging road trip.
The Heat shot an efficient 12 of 25 (48 percent) from three-point range in the first half. Meanwhile, the Pelicans committed 17 turnovers in the first half for the most turnovers they have committed in any half this season.
Despite that, the first half was still competitive with six lead changes and seven ties. But after the Pelicans tied the score at 59, the Heat closed the second quarter on an 11-3 run to enter halftime with an eight-point lead.
But the Heat finally broke the game open against the struggling Pelicans in the third quarter.
After the Pelicans began the second half by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to just one, the Heat responded with a 21-2 run to pull away and take a 20-point lead.
The Heat never looked back, as its lead grew to as large as 21 points.
The Heat took advantage of a season-high 25 turnovers by the Pelicans, scoring 31 off those mistakes. Miami recorded 20 steals on Sunday.
The Pelicans’ turnover issues paired with efficient Heat three-point shooting was enough to turn this into a one-sided game.
The Heat shot 18 of 44 (40.9 percent) on threes in the win. The Heat also tied a season-high with 31 fast-break points.
Norman Powell led the way for Miami, setting a new career-high with nine three-point makes on his way to scoring a game-high 34 points.
Trey Murphy scored a team-high 27 points for the Pelicans.
The Heat has now won five of its last six games. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have lost seven straight games.
Powell put together the best three-point shooting performances of his NBA career.
Powell, who was available despite tweaking his right hamstring in Saturday’s loss to the Timberwolves, was hot from the start.
Powell made his first four three-pointers on Sunday, and it didn’t take him long to make four threes. He hit his fourth three-pointer of the night just 5:22 into the game.
The only thing that really slowed Powell down was foul trouble, as he was called for his second foul with 3:11 left in the first quarter and was forced to head to the bench.
But Powell still finished the opening period with 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.
By halftime, Powell had 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, 5-of-6 shooting on threes and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.
Powell didn’t stop there, though, hitting three threes in the third quarter to match his career-high of eight three-point makes in a game.
Powell then set a new career-high by making his ninth three-pointer of the night with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter. He closed with 34 points behind 9-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
But Powell finished one three-point make shy of tying the single-game franchise record for a Heat player of 10 three-pointers.
Heat guard Tyler Herro was available and in uniform on Sunday for the first time since Dec. 9, but he didn’t play against the Pelicans.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra explained the decision to have Herro in uniform despite knowing he wouldn’t play on Sunday as a move “to get the mindset ready for the next step.”
Sunday marked the 11th straight game that Herro has not played in because of a right big toe contusion. He has also missed 13 of the last 14 games with his toe injury.
But Sunday did represent progress for Herro, who is nearing his return. He will travel with the team to Minneapolis for the start of the Heat’s four-game trip on Tuesday against the Timberwolves, and could make his return in that contest.
Herro, who also missed the first 17 games of the season due to left ankle surgery he underwent in September, has played in just six games so far this season.
Herro is averaging 23.2 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting from the field, 40.5 percent shooting from three-point range and 92.3 percent shooting from the foul line in his six appearances this season. The Heat is 3-3 in the six games that Herro has played in.
Along with Herro not playing on Sunday, the Heat was also without Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained right ankle), Vlad Goldin (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Terry Rozier (not with team) and Jahmir Young (G League) against the Pelicans.
It marked the first game Jaquez has missed after spraining his right ankle in Saturday’s loss to the Timberwolves. It’s just the second game that Jaquez has missed this season.
The Pelicans didn’t have Saddiq Bey (right hip flexor strain), Hunter Dickinson (G League), Herbert Jones (right ankle sprain) and Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture) against the Heat.
It was another relatively quiet night on the offensive end for Heat three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo scored his first points of the night with 3:04 left in the second quarter, finishing the Heat’s 70-point first half with just four points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting from three-point range and zero free throws, one rebounds, four assists and one block.
But after starting 3 of 11 from the field, Adebayo found some rhythm on the offensive end to score eight points in the second half. He finished Sunday’s win with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 shooting on threes and 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
But Adebayo still has reached the 20-point mark just once in his last 11 appearances. For perspective, Adebayo averaged 20.4 points per game during the 2022-23 season.
While the Heat was missing its best bench player in Jaquez, it did get guard Pelle Larsson back from injury on Sunday.
Larsson, who missed the previous two games with a sprained right ankle, was part of a Jaquez-less Heat bench rotation that also included Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Kasparas Jakucionis and Myron Gardner against the Pelicans.
Larsson contributed 16 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals in his return. He also posted a quality plus/minus of plus 23 in 26 minutes off the bench.
Jovic also made a big impact, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in 26 minutes. He was especially impressive early on, recording 13 points, two rebounds and one steal in seven first-quarter minutes.
Gardener, who is on a two-way contract with the Heat and has seldomly been used this season, totaled four points, three rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes. It marked the second-most minutes he has played in his 10 NBA appearances this season.