Heat Check: Miami caps hectic day with lopsided loss to Pelicans

MIAMI -- After a whirlwind turn of events Saturday in which Chris Bosh was ruled out for the remainder of the season and new players Goran and Zoran Dragic were introduced, the Miami Heat came out flat and trailed the entire game in a 105-91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Goran Dragic made his Heat debut and showed flashes of his brilliance but struggled to get on the same page with his new teammates. Instead, it was Mario Chalmers who paced the team with 16 first-half points as the team shot 25 percent in the first quarter and 37 percent for the half.

The Pelicans were involved in the three-team trade that brought Dragic to Miami, and his insertion into the starting lineup was one of the many roster changes for both teams. Norris Cole returned to AmericanAirlines Arena as a member of the Pelicans and received a standing ovation after a tribute video was played for him in the first quarter. Former Heat teammate Justin Hamilton was also present on the Pelicans bench.

New Orleans lost two of their three best players in the first half to injury, with Anthony Davis aggravating his injured right shoulder and Ryan Anderson having to be helped off the court soon afterward with a right knee sprain.

Nonetheless, the Pelicans led the entire way in the first half and opened a double-digit lead, primarily as a result of constant dribble-drive penetration that led to them going 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.

Dragic went scoreless in the first half but settled down to score 10 points in the third quarter. New Orleans continued to expand its lead, however, as Eric Gordon took over with 16 third-quarter points to turn the game into a blowout. Cole had a strong game in his Pelicans debut with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.

On the second night of a back-to-back, Dwyane Wade struggled from the field and finished with 19 points on 8-of-23 shooting. Miami never threatened to make a significant run in the second half and dropped its home record to 9-16.

THE TURNING POINT

New Orleans boosted its 10-point lead at halftime after Gordon knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 19-4 run to start the third quarter.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Gordon made up for the absence of Davis and Anderson with his hot shooting. Miami had no answers for his accuracy from long range. He went 6 of 11 from 3-point territory to finish with 24 points to lead all scorers.

STAT OF THE GAME

With Dragic starting, the Heat used their 22nd different starting lineup of the season in 54 games.

WHAT'S NEXT

Miami hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.