The Miami Heat (44-37) rolled past the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans (45-36) 153-104 on Friday, April 11, led by Bam Adebayo’s dominant double-double in limited minutes and a red-hot offensive performance that tied an NBA scoring record.
Adebayo posted 23 points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes, while Tyler Herro added 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Duncan Robinson scored 21 in 19 minutes. Miami never trailed, led by as many as 52, and had 10 players finish in double figures — tying an NBA record last matched in 1994.
Despite the blowout win, Miami was officially locked into the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference after Chicago’s win. The Heat will now travel to face the Bulls in the play-in tournament on Wednesday, needing two victories to advance to the playoffs.
Jamal Cain led the Pelicans with 25 points, while Antonio Reeves added 19. Elfrid Payton notched a double-double with 13 assists and 10 rebounds as New Orleans suffered its most lopsided regular-season loss in franchise history.
Heat: Miami outshot New Orleans 55.8% to 40% and dominated the paint 70-46. Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Isaiah Stevens (foot) were inactive.
Pelicans: For the second consecutive night, New Orleans dressed just eight players. Multiple key players — including Brandon Boston Jr., Kelly Olynyk, Yves Missi, Jordan Hawkins, and Bruce Brown — remained sidelined.
Herro sparked a 10-0 run to open the second half with a 3-pointer, pushing Miami’s lead to 81-54 and putting the game out of reach.
Both teams close the regular season on Sunday. The Heat host the Washington Wizards, while the Pelicans welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder.
