New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis celebrates after the Pelicans defeated the Miami Heat 124-123 in overtime in an NBA basketball game in New Orleans on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Veronica Dominach)
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis had 45 points, 17 rebounds, five blocked shots and five steals, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Miami Heat 124-123 in overtime Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
Goran Dragic scored 30 points and Dwyane Wade hit two runners to give the Heat the lead twice in the last 36 seconds of overtime, but Davis responded to the first with a layup as he was fouled, and Jrue Holiday answered the second with a runner in the lane with 7 seconds left.
Wade had one last shot for the win with Holiday defending him closely. It bounced off the rim to Josh Richardson, whose rushed put-back missed the basket as time expired in Miami’s third straight loss.
Davis, who has scored no fewer than 38 points in a game during New Orleans’ winning streak – and 42 or more three times – raised both arms in triumph as he looked up at the jubilant crowd, and then exchanged high fives with fans along the court.
Holiday finished with 29 points and nine assists, connecting with Davis on a couple of alley-oop dunks. Ian Clark scored a season-high 21 points and Nikola Mirotic capped his 10-point, nine-rebound performance with a crucial 3 in overtime.
Hassan Whiteside had 19 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out in overtime when he hacked Davis on a put-back attempt. Davis hit both free throws to tie it at 117, and then gave New Orleans a brief lead with his fifth alley-oop dunk of the game on a fast-break lob from Holiday with 1:10 to go. Wade had 16 points, while Richardson and Tyler Johnson each scored 15 points.
Neither team was able to build a double-digit lead during game which riveted a boisterous crowd with its fast pace and array of highlights on both ends of the floor. There were 13 ties and nine lead changes.
New Orleans scored 37 fast-break points. Davis threw down seven dunks. He converted one alley-oop while being fouled and also turned a steal into a fast-break layup as he was fouled. And the All-Star wasn’t the only one blocking shots for New Orleans. Emeka Okafor, now in his second 10-day contract after being out of the league for four-plus seasons, had five blocks.
After trailing much of the second half, the Pelicans appeared to be seizing control with a 10-0 run during which Holiday scored eight points, giving New Orleans a 104-99 lead with 2:51 to go.
But the Heat rallied to tie it at 106 on Wade’s free throws.
Davis hit a jumper with 23 seconds left and Wade missed on the other end, but a rebound contested by several players fell to Dragic in the paint, and he hit an uncontested layup to tie it again.
The Pelicans had 14 seconds to set up a winning shot, but Davis’ drive was cut off along the baseline and his awkward layup attempted missed and the game went to overtime after Miami was unable to get a shot from an inbounds play with .8 seconds left.
TIP-INS
Heat: James Johnson had 12 points and blocked two shots. … Dragic had nine rebounds and eight assists. … Miami finished with a 70-62 advantage in points in the paint. … Heat players wore black patches reading MSD in white to honor the victims of the shooting last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Meanwhile, coaches wore Stoneman Douglas lapel pins with the school’s symbol, the head of an eagle. ”It’s an absolute honor for us to wear these,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”I know I speak for everybody in that locker room and everybody in the organization – we are so very inspired by the leadership and courage and absolute fearlessness of the kids and young men and women. … Such a tragic event, but we hear their voices, loud and clear, and we are behind them.”
Pelicans: Davis hit a 3-pointer, giving him a career-best 41 3s in a single season. … Walter Lemon Jr., signed to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, saw his first action in the second quarter. In his first minute on the court, he was blocked twice by Richardson in rapid succession. Lemon got the rebound on the first block before Bam Adebayo grabbed the rebound on the second block.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Memphis on Saturday night.
Pelicans: Visit Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon.