Adebayo leads the Heat in a landslide win against the Pelicans in the NBA

First Amendment: 01/19/2023 – 12:22

Center Adebayo scored 26 points and the Heat comfortably advanced from the first quarter.

Jimmy Butler added 18 points and Gabe Vincent hit four three-pointers for Florida.

The Heat never trailed and drove throughout on their way to their fourth win in their last five games.

CJ McCollum scored 21 points for the Pelicans, who lost seven out of 10 games, and much of that series was without star power forward Zion Williamson.

Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which briefly cut a 19-point deficit in the first half to 12 in the third quarter before Miami pulled away again.

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry returned after missing four games with a left knee injury. Lowry played 22 minutes and finished with seven points, eight sacks and four touchdown services.

The Heat outscored the Pelicans 43-37 and fared out of the field 64-48.

Grizzlies are horrified

In Memphis, Stephen Adams recorded the first game-winning basket of his career as the hometown Grizzlies recorded their record 11th straight victory with a hard-fought 115-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Adams, the New Zealand international, was on hand to score the basket after an attempted layup from Ja Morant with just under 17 seconds remaining at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Memphis forward Dillon Brooks later threw the crucial block to deflect Cavs point guard Darius Garland’s attempt at the 3-pointer before the buzzer.

“We’re always ready for the physical side, we’re always ready to play,” Brooks said afterwards. “We have a lot of warriors here who are ready to play every night. We have to keep playing hard, keep playing with heart and effort, and keep playing together,” he added.

Memphis’ 11th straight win equaled the team’s longest winning streak last season and puts it level with the Denver Nuggets atop the Western Conference at 31 wins and 13 losses.

Denver won Minnesota 122-118 that day with a “double-double triple” from Serbian Nikola Jokic of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, his third straight, 14th of the season, and 90th of his career.

Wednesday’s NBA results:

Atlanta to Dallas 130-122

Miami to New Orleans 124-98

Oklahoma City to Indiana 126-106

Washington to New York Knicks 116-105

Charlotte to Houston 122-117

Memphis to Cleveland 115-114

Utah at LA Clippers 126-103

Denver to Minnesota 122-118

Sacramento to Los Angeles Lakers 116-111

© 2023 AFP