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2023-24 NBA Regular Season
New Orleans Pelicans v Miami Heat
Smoothie King Center
New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday 24 February 2024
Tip-off at 03:00
Miami Heat will continue their push for a place in the playoffs when they lock horns with New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on the morning of Saturday, February 24.
The Heat endured a slump last month as they won just five of their 15 games and ended January with seven defeats on the spin before results picked up over the next fortnight.
A 109-104 win against Philadelphia 76ers on February 15 improved their record to 30-25 in the Eastern Conference and Erik Spoelstra's team are 0.5 games back to Indiana Pacers (6th) in seventh place.
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Bam Adebayo posted 23 points and 14 rebounds against the Sixers as the Heat went 10-2 in the fourth quarter from a point down to close out the game after making their final three baskets from winning offensive rebounds.
"I was encouraged to see the commitment to do the tougher things defensively and I saw a lot of those plays in the last six minutes of the game," Spoelstra said.
"People just want to see big individual scoring nights. But those are winning plays. Those extra possessions were huge for us."
The Pelicans have put themselves in a position to qualify for the playoffs after going 7-1 this month to move up to sixth in the Western Conference.
Willie Green's team beat Washington Wizards 133-126 on February 15 to make it three wins in a row and put pressure on Phoenix Suns, who have an identical record of 33-22 this season in the West.
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Zion Williamson scored 36 points in the win over the Wizards, who made a game of it on the back of Deni Avdija's career-best 43 points which included six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
"It's a gutsy win coming off a long road trip," Green said. "We gave them some life. Once you give a team life, their confidence is high. We had to grind to get this win, but we'll take it."
New Orleans Pelicans v Miami Heat - Head-to-head, Regular Season
Games played: 45
Pelicans wins: 20
Heat wins: 25
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