Heat (17-11), Pelicans (9-20)
MIAMI – New Orleans trailed nearly the entire afternoon, put together a big fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime, but ultimately dropped a Christmas matinee to Miami, in just the second Dec. 25 game of franchise history. The Heat were up 13 at one stage of the third quarter, before the Pelicans mounted a rally that wiped out that deficit and created a 78-all deadlock through regulation. In the extra period, Miami scored 12 of the first 16 points, taking command. Three of New Orleans’ five starters were playing for the first time on Christmas in their NBA careers, but the rare holiday game likely won’t be one they’ll look back and remember fondly. Aside from Anthony Davis – who was making his Dec. 25 debut in Year 4 as a pro – the Pelicans didn’t play or shoot well virtually across the board. New Orleans needed the OT to avoid scoring its fewest points of the regular season, an 81-point output at Toronto on Nov. 13.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Eric Gordon drove for a layup but couldn’t convert with about 15 seconds left in OT. Miami grabbed the rebound and dribbled out the rest of the remaining time. The Heat outscored the Pelicans by a 16-10 margin in the fifth period.
