The New Orleans Pelicans (26-18, 17-5 Home) will try to break down one of the league’s top scoring defenses when they welcome the Miami Heat (24-21, 10-12 Away) on Wednesday. Miami was beaten by the Atlanta Hawks 121-113 at State Farm Arena on Monday. Jimmy Butler had a standout performance in the loss with 34 points.
The Heat are seventh in the Eastern Conference. New Orleans lost on Monday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-103. CJ McCollum topped the scoresheet in defeat with 25 points. With 22 points and 13 rebounds, Jonas Valanciunas also impressed.
The Pelicans are third in the Western Conference. The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Miami won both matchups between the teams last season, the last of which was a 112-97 triumph at Smoothie King Center in February 2022, their fourth straight head-to-head victory.
Butler led the Heat with 29 points and eight rebounds. Jose Alvarado had 17 points in the losing effort. The Heat have been led this season by Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, who are averaging 21.4 and 21.0 points per game, respectively. Adebayo also has grabbed 10.1 rebounds per game, ninth-most in the league. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry is dishing 5.6 assists per game.
McCollum (21.3 ppg) has been the primary provider of the Pels’ offense. McCollum also has recorded 5.8 assists per game. Valanciunas has posted 9.8 rebounds per game. The Heat rank as one of the best scoring defenses in the NBA, second-best with 108.8 points per game allowed.
The teams have split their last 10 matchups at Smoothie King Center (5-5).Miami is 6-4 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +2.7 (111.3-108.6). New Orleans has gone 4-6 over the last 10, allowing 115.5 points per game on average while scoring only 114.2 (-1.3 margin).
HEAT HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Gabe Vincent: 22.4 | 14.4 | +8.0
Kyle Lowry: 13.0 | 23.1 | -10.1
Points per game:
Kyle Lowry: 4.0 | 13.1 | -9.1
Assists per game:
Jimmy Butler: 2.2 | 5.2 | -3.0
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jonas Valanciunas: 37.2 | 26.2 | +11.0
Points per game:
Jonas Valanciunas: 24.0 | 14.7 | +9.3
Rebounds per game:
Willy Hernangomez: 10.0 | 4.7 | +5.3
Assists per game:
Jose Alvarado: 4.8 | 3.2 | +1.6
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Miami Heat (-160)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
