• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Davis powers Pelicans past Heat

Mar 23, 2014 - 3:49 AM New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Davis poured in a game-high 30 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to help the New Orleans Pelicans take a 105-95 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Tyreke Evans added 16 points and eight assists, Al-Farouq Aminu scored 12 and Luke Babbitt finished with 11 points for the Pelicans, winners in three of their last four.

"To get this win against the defending champs you feel really good about what you are trying to do as a coaching staff. I am proud of our guys to be able to do that on a back-to-back," said Pelicans coach Monty Williams.

New Orleans beat the Atlanta Hawks 111-105 on Friday.

LeBron James narrowly missed out on a triple-double with 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and Mario Chalmers turned in 19 points and seven assists for the Heat, who fell to 6-7 in the month of March.

"Our group understands that there are a lot of ups and downs in a season. You have to manage everything. We're not accustomed to this type of play, these type of standards, particularly on the defensive end and if we want to change, we have to look inward," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "Every single one of us, including the staff, including the players to make change."

Miami opened the game on a 10-2 run, but the Pelicans countered with a 15-3 burst to take a 17-13 lead. Davis highlighted the run by stripping Heat forward Chris Bosh and taking in the length of the court for a slam.

The Heat regained the lead moments later following a pair of Chris Andersen free throws before going into the second knotted at 22-22.

The Pelicans led 38-30 following an Aminu layup with 4:19 remaining in the second, but the Heat scored eight straight points to tie things up just inside the two-minute mark. Michael Beasley, who scored the final four on the run, tied the game with an acrobatic reverse layup.

New Orleans led 45-41 following Davis' jumper with 18 seconds left in the half, but James buried a 19-foot fadeaway as time expired to make it 45-43 at the break.

Brian Roberts' 3-pointer made it 67-59 with 5:19 left in the third, but the Heat managed to pull within four, 76-72 entering the final frame.

The Pelicans used a 12-2 run early in the fourth to go up 92-78 before stretching its lead to 16, 98-92, moments later. Miami never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Pelicans scored 19 points off 16 Miami turnovers ... New Orleans outscored the Heat 52-46 in the paint ... Roberts scored eight points and handed out six assists ... The Heat shot 50.7 percent from the field ... Beasley finished with 16 points off the bench.