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Bosh, Wade carry Heat to OT win over Pelicans, 94-88
Posted On Dec 25 2015
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The Miami Heat looked sharp early on and built an early double-digit lead against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Christmas Day.
Chris Bosh led the way for Miami with 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a steal, while Dwyane Wade chipped in 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The win moved the Heat to an NBA-best 10-2 all-time on Christmas, including seven straight wins.
The Heat won the rebounding battle 57-45 but could do little to contain Anthony Davis from putting his imprint in the game with 29 points and 15 rebounds, with a double-double already secured in the first half. But he missed a contested jumper on New Orleans’ final possession of regulation, and the Heat controlled the extra session.
Ryan Anderson scored 18 and Eric Gordon finished with 16 for New Orleans.
“That’s why I get paid the big bucks, to win games for us down the stretch”, Davis said. Meanwhile, the Heat, which led by as many as 13 points in the first half, were unable to pull away because of poor shooting from the field (36.4 percent) and too many turnovers (11).Miami pushed its lead back to 11, closing the third quarter with a 63-52 advantage.
Center Hassan Whiteside was crucial in his team’s superiority on the glass, snatching 17 rebounds to accompany his eight points and four blocks on the afternoon. Davis had 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in the first half. New Orleans has now won three of their last four at home but they’re still only 9-19 on the season overall and 6-6 at home. The Heat outscored the Pelicans by a 16-10 margin in the fifth period.
He also became the first player to score 20 points and notch 10 rebounds in the first half of a game this season, per ESPN Stats and Info.
New Orleans’ largest first-half deficit was 13 points, which was trimmed to 42-38 going into intermission after Davis’ follow-slam closed the scoring. Davis was held to three points in the quarter, making just 1 of 4 shots from the floor. The Heat play 26 times in 47 days going into the All-Star break. The Pelicans have two former Heat players – PG Norris Cole and G Toney Douglas….
