Miami forward Duncan Robinson shoots a 3-pointer during the Heat’s 111-98 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday in Miami. Robinson 23 points, including seven 3-pointers. Joel Auerbach/Associated Press
MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra remained perfect on Christmas, and a record-tying show from Duncan Robinson helped him stay that way.
Robinson made seven 3-pointers – tying the Christmas single-game mark – and scored 23 points, helping the Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 to start the NBA’s holiday quintupleheader Friday.
“It’s super special to play in Christmas,” Robinson said. “I certainly don’t take it for granted.”
Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Bam Adebayo had 17 and Avery Bradley finished with 12 for Miami, and Spoelstra improved his Christmas record as Heat coach to 8-0.
“I wasn’t even aware of that,” Spoelstra said. “Just shows you that we’ve had some really good teams here and teams that have had the opportunity to play on Christmas.”
Precious Achiuwa and Tyler Herro each scored 11 for Miami, which lost Jimmy Butler at halftime with right ankle stiffness.
Zion Williamson had 32 points and 14 rebounds in 38 minutes for New Orleans – the rebounds and minutes both being career highs. Brandon Ingram finished with 28 points.
But the Pelicans shot 40% to Miami’s 51%.
“We made some defensive mistakes that we shouldn’t have,” said Josh Hart, who scored 12 for New Orleans. “Lack of communication. We’ve got to communicate better on the defensive end.”
Robinson’s seven 3s tied the Christmas mark Ingram set last year.
“The guy is a great, great shooter. He’s going to have nights like that,” Pelicans Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But at least three of them were ones where we could have done a better job.”
JJ Redick’s 3-pointer with 7:43 left cut Miami’s lead to 91-85 and came during a stretch when the Heat went five minutes without a field goal. But the Pelicans got no closer.
The Heat restored order by scoring 11 of the game’s next 13 points, and when Achiuwa – the rookie who had strong defensive minutes – forced Williamson into a turnover with 3:55 left, the entire Miami bench rose in celebration.
“We knew they would make a run, but we stayed composed,” Dragic said.
New Orleans led 17-9 midway through the opening quarter – and got outscored 52-21 by Miami over the next 13½ minutes, with the Heat hitting nine of their 13 first-half 3s in that span on the way to a 23-point lead.
The Pelicans chipped away, getting within 66-53 at the half and 88-79 after three. But New Orleans shot only 30% in the final quarter and Ingram went scoreless in those 12 minutes after playing the entire third period.
Van Gundy lamented playing Ingram so much in the third.
“Probably not optimal play-calling on my part, either,” Van Gundy said.
BUCKS 138, WARRIORS 99: Khris Middleton scored 31 points and Milwaukee routed Golden State to win its first Christmas Day home game in over half a century.
Middleton went 6 for 8 from 3-point range, leading a strong performance from deep for his team. Milwaukee was 20 of 37 from beyond the arc, while Golden State was 10 of 45.
The Warriors were outscored by 65 points in their first two games, the second-highest total in NBA history through two games to 71 points for the 1987-88 Clippers. Golden State lost 125-99 at Brooklyn in its season opener.
Milwaukee’s only other Christmas home game came during the franchise’s inaugural season in 1968. The Bucks were on the road for Christmas the last two seasons, losing at Philadelphia in 2019 and winning at New York in 2018.
Bucks players got a Christmas surprise before the game when they received videotaped messages from their families in a move orchestrated by team officials.
Then they went out and delivered a dominant performance to bounce back from a season-opening 122-121 loss at Boston in which Celtics star Jayson Tatum banked in a go-ahead 3-pointer and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a potential tying free throw in the final second.
Antetkounmpo had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Golden State, but the two-time reigning NBA MVP shot 4 of 15 from the floor and 7 of 15 from the foul line.
Stephen Curry scored 19 points for Golden State, and rookie James Wiseman had 18. Andrew Wiggins had 12 and Brad Wanamaker added 11.
Donte DiVincenzo and D.J. Augustin each scored 13 for Milwaukee. Jrue Holiday had 12 and Bobby Portis added 10.
LAKERS 138, MAVERICKS 115: Anthony Davis scored 28 points and LeBron James had 22 while becoming the second-leading Christmas scorer in NBA history during Los Angeles’ victory over Dallas in Los Angeles.
Montrezl Harrell scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, and Dennis Schröder had 18 points and six assists in a second strong game for both new additions to the NBA champions. Los Angeles outrebounded Dallas 53-27 and closed out its first win of the season with a dominant fourth quarter.
Luka Doncic had 27 points and seven assists in his first starring role in the NBA’s showcase Christmas evening game for Dallas. Josh Richardson and Trey Burke had 17 points apiece as the Mavs started 0-2 with a late fade at Staples Center.
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