Heat crushes Pelicans behind Norman Powell’s career night from three-point range. Takeaways
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 125-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans (8-29) on Sunday night at Kaseya Center on the second night of a back-to-back set to close its two-game homestand at 1-1. The Heat (20-16) now hits the road to begin a four-game trip on Tuesday against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis:
The Heat bounced back from Saturday’s home loss to the Timberwolves to earn a much-needed win over a struggling Pelicans team before heading out on a challenging road trip.
The Heat shot an efficient 12 of 25 (48 percent) from three-point range in the first half. Meanwhile, the Pelicans committed 17 turnovers in the first half for the most turnovers they have committed in any half this season.
Despite that, the first half was still competitive with six lead changes and seven ties. But after the Pelicans tied the score at 59, the Heat closed the second quarter on an 11-3 run to enter halftime with an eight-point lead.
But the Heat finally broke the game open against the overmatched Pelicans in the third quarter.
After the Pelicans began the second half by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to just one, the Heat responded with a 21-2 run to pull away and take a 20-point lead.
The Heat never looked back, as its lead grew to as large as 21 points.
“I loved the offense,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The ball was really moving. I thought the guys were sharing the ball. It was a fun first half offensively. But the defense, it was much better in the second half.”
The Heat took advantage of a season-high 26 turnovers by the Pelicans, scoring 31 points off those mistakes. Miami recorded 19 steals on Sunday.
The Pelicans’ turnover issues paired with efficient Heat three-point shooting was enough to turn this into a one-sided game.
The Heat shot 18 of 44 (40.9 percent) on threes in the win. The Heat also tied a season-high with 31 fast-break points.
Norman Powell led the way for Miami, setting a new career-high with nine three-point makes on his way to scoring a game-high 34 points.
Trey Murphy scored a team-high 27 points for the Pelicans.
The Heat has now won five of its last six games. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have lost seven straight games.
“I told Spo and the rest of the coaching staff and even the guys in the locker room know that this is a must win for us,” Powell said after Sunday’s victory. “Especially losing the front end of the back-to-back, we definitely had to come out and set the tone and get this win just to prepare us and get us ready for this road trip.”
Powell put together the best three-point shooting performance of his NBA career.
Powell, who was available despite tweaking his right hamstring in Saturday’s loss to the Timberwolves, was hot from the start.
Powell made his first four three-pointers on Sunday, and it didn’t take him long to make those four threes. He hit his fourth three-pointer of the night just 5:22 into the game.
The only thing that really slowed Powell down was foul trouble, as he was called for his second foul with 3:11 left in the first quarter and was forced to head to the bench.
But Powell still finished the opening period with 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.
By halftime, Powell had 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, 5-of-6 shooting on threes and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.
Powell didn’t stop there, though, hitting three threes in the third quarter to match his career-high of eight three-point makes in a game.
Powell then set a new career-high by making his ninth three-pointer of the night with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter. He closed with 34 points behind 9-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
“The way my shot felt, everything felt good, my release, my balance,” Powell said. “And then it was just reading the pickup points of the defenders. If they’re below the three point line, picking me up, then it’s a good look for me. And after I made that first couple, things were feeling good. I just kept looking at where they were picking me up and letting it fly.”
Powell finished one three-point make shy of tying the single-game franchise record for a Heat player of 10 three-pointers, which has been done by Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw.
“I probably wouldn’t even think about playing him tonight,” Spoelstra said of Powell playing through his hamstring issue on Sunday. “But he looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘You can trust me.’ So he’s earning some trust there from him knowing his body better than anybody else.”
Herro was available and in uniform on Sunday for the first time since Dec. 9, but he didn’t play against the Pelicans.
Spoelstra explained the decision to have Herro in uniform despite knowing he wouldn’t play on Sunday as a move “to get the mindset ready for the next step.”
Sunday marked the 11th straight game that Herro has not played in because of a right big toe contusion. He has also missed 13 of the last 14 games with his toe injury.
But Sunday did represent progress for Herro, who is nearing his return. He will travel with the team to Minneapolis for the start of the Heat’s four-game trip on Tuesday against the Timberwolves, and could make his return in that contest.
Herro, who also missed the first 17 games of the season due to left ankle surgery he underwent in September, has played in just six games so far this season.
Herro has averaged 23.2 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting from the field, 40.5 percent shooting from three-point range and 92.3 percent shooting from the foul line in his six appearances this season. The Heat is 3-3 in the six games that Herro has played in.
Along with Herro not playing on Sunday, the Heat was also without Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained right ankle), Vlad Goldin (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Terry Rozier (not with team) and Jahmir Young (G League) against the Pelicans.
It marked the first game Jaquez has missed after spraining his right ankle in Saturday’s loss to the Timberwolves. It’s just the second game that Jaquez has missed this season.
The Pelicans didn’t have Saddiq Bey (right hip flexor strain), Hunter Dickinson (G League), Herbert Jones (right ankle sprain) and Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture) against the Heat.
It was another relatively quiet night on the offensive end for Heat three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo scored his first points of the night with 3:04 left in the second quarter, finishing the Heat’s 70-point first half with just four points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting from three-point range and zero free throws, one rebounds, four assists and one block.
But after starting 3 of 11 from the field, Adebayo found some rhythm on the offensive end to score eight points in the second half. He finished Sunday’s win with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 shooting on threes and 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
But Adebayo still has reached the 20-point mark just once in his last 11 appearances. For perspective, Adebayo averaged 20.4 points per game during the 2022-23 season.
While the Heat was missing its best bench player in Jaquez, it did get guard Pelle Larsson back from injury on Sunday.
Larsson, who missed the previous two games with a sprained right ankle, was part of a Jaquez-less Heat bench rotation that also included Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Kasparas Jakucionis and Myron Gardner against the Pelicans.
Larsson contributed 16 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals in his return. He also posted a quality plus/minus of plus 23 in 26 minutes off the bench.
Jovic also made a big impact, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in 26 minutes. He was especially impressive early on, recording 13 points, two rebounds and one steal in seven first-quarter minutes.
Gardener, who is on a two-way contract with the Heat and has seldom been used this season, totaled four points, three rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes. It marked the second-most minutes he has played in his 10 NBA appearances this season.
“I like Myron’s energy,” Spoelstra said. “He’s grown on me. He’s grown on the staff, the players in the locker room. I love his personality. It’s always alive in the locker room when he’s around, and it’s from a pure place. He’s just a high-energy guy, he’s a likeable guy. He works his tail off. “
Even without Jaquez, the Heat’s bench still outscored the Pelicans’ reserves 44-29 on Sunday.
“We missed him today,” Larsson said of Jaquez. “He’s really fun to play with. He pushes the pace and has been creating a lot of good looks for us other guys.
This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 8:28 PM.
