The New Orleans Pelicans lost to the Miami Heat 128-118 Thursday night at the Kaseya Center. Here are some observations from the game.
**New lineup**
Jamahl Mosley used a different starting lineup than the one in Tuesday’s win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. His starters were Jeremiah Fears, Bennedict Mathurin, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson and Yves Missi. Fears and Mathurin started in place of Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones. Murray is dealing with a toe contusion and didn’t dress out. Mosley said the decision to hold Murray out was for precautionary reasons.
Mosley’s plan it to experiment with different lineups in the preseason. In the two preseason games and the one scrimmage last Saturday at St. Augustine High School, the trio of Williamson, Murphy and Missi have been constants as starters. Missi had a solid stat line of 11 points and nine rebounds, including four offensive boards.
**Player of the game**
Jordan Poole.
Poole, in his second season in New Orleans, came off the bench and led the Pelicans with 14 points. Poole struggled last year in his first season here, but showed some good things on both ends of the court against the Heat. Poole went 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.
“He’s doing everything that we have asked him to do, both offensively and defensively,” Mosley said. He also had a pair of assists.
**What we liked**
\- The start
The Pelicans’ starters had a rough night against OKC. They looked better Thursday, particularly on the offensive end. The Pels led 36-33 at the end of the first quarter. Unlike two nights ago when OKC sat all of its top players, Miami played its regulars. The defense still has work to do, but seeing the starters play better offensively was a plus.
\-The rebounding
The Pelicans outrebounded the Heat 54-47. It’s the second straight game they have outrebounded their opponent. The Pels had
\- The 3-point shooting
The Pelicans made 19 of their 43 shots (44.2 %) from long distance. Second round draft pick Jaron Pierre doesn’t look like a rookie scared of the moment. He went 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, including one at the end of the third quarter.
**What we didn’t like**
\- The second quarter. Particularly from the midway point of the quarter until halftime. The Pels gave up 40 points in the quarter. That’s never good.
\-Turnovers
The Pelicans turned the ball over 22 times. Most of those came in that rough second quarter. The Heat scored 30 points off turnovers. The Pels only scored 11 points off turnovers.
“Selfish play, which led to them running out and getting easy transition baskets,” Mosley said. “I think we have to continue to understand as a unit, as a group that we have to do it together. When we got down, each one of us wanted to chase it to think we could do it on our own. But in situations like that, you have to have a level of poise about you and know that the ball has to move from side to side.”
\- Inside presence
Protecting the paint is something Joe Dumars talked about in the offseason as an area of concern. It still is. The Heat outscored the Pels 58-40 in the paint. Giannis Antetokounmpo, of course, is a load. He led Miami with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. OKC also outscored them in the paint.
**Up next:** (preseason) Wednesday at Dallas Mavericks