James Scores 32, Heat Run Past Pelicans 107-88
MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James scored 32 points, Dwyane Wade scored 22 and the Miami Heat turned things around in the second half to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 107-88 Tuesday night.
It was the 10th 30-point game of the season for James. The Heat are 9-1 when he scores that many.
Chris Andersen was 7 for 7 from the field and scored 15 points, and Chris Bosh added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Heat (27-8), who trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter.
Miami then outscored New Orleans 59-26 over the next 20 minutes, the run ending when James, Wade and Bosh departed for the night with about 3 minutes left.
Wade finished with eight rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which got 11 points from Ray Allen.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 22 points and 12 rebounds, most of his numbers coming in the first half. Eric Gordon scored 15 and Tyreke Evans added 13 for New Orleans (15-18).
Wade found a baseline-cutting James for an alley-oop dunk early in the third, and that seemed to be the spark Miami needed. The Heat shot 61 percent in the third, outscoring the Pelicans 32-21 and with James nearly outscoring them by himself, putting up 16 in the period.
And in the fourth, the Heat wasted no time taking full control. Allen's 3-pointer from the same spot where he connected with 5.2 seconds left in Game 6 of the NBA Finals started a 7-0 run to start the period, with the margin growing steadily from there in Miami's final game before setting out to play its next six away from home.
It was very much a tale of two halves. New Orleans was great in the first, and the opposite of great in the second.
Davis had a double-double by halftime, 16 points and 10 rebounds in the opening two quarters — only the second time the 2012 No. 1 pick has managed that in his career. He was dominant with seven offensive rebounds, three steals, two blocks and 7 for 11 shooting in that half, numbers that certainly won't hurt his shot at playing in the All-Star Game in New Orleans next month.
And the Pelicans were giving Miami all it wanted. The Heat found themselves down by as many as nine in the first half and the Pelicans had a chance just before the break to push their advantage into double figures.
Instead, two mistakes — less than a second apart — sent them into intermission up by only six.
Evans was whistled for a discontinued dribble with 1.1 seconds remaining. Miami called a timeout to set up a play, James connected with Bosh on a 35-foot pass and Bosh got fouled while attempting a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He made all three free throws with 0.2 seconds left, and Miami got within 49-43 at the half.
New Orleans scored the first five points of the third, getting the lead up to 11. Less than five minutes later, the lead was already gone, and the Heat were starting to roll.
NOTES: The Pelicans didn't get any basketball workouts Sunday or Monday because of travel issues getting to Miami. They held a game-day shootaround practice at their hotel Tuesday. ... A fan seated courtside yawned in the fourth quarter. "You tired?" Wade asked her, and the woman laughed for about a minute afterward. ... Davis finished 10 for 18 from the field.
