clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

New Orleans Hornets Visit Miami Heat: Game 21 Preview

Miami (15-5) looks to run its current win streak to five, tonight, as the Heat host Jarrett Jack and the New Orleans Hornets (4-16) at the American Airlines Arena.

Getty Images

The Miami Heat will be hosting the New Orleans Hornets at the American Airlines Arena in Miami tonight. It's the only meeting of the season between the expansion year cousins. The Heat are 9-2 at home, while the Hornets have a 2-6 road record. For Miami, this is the final game of a three game homestand. The Heat beat the New York Knicks, 99-89 on Thursday and the Chicago Bulls, 97-93 last night. The Hornets had lost nine in a row before beating the Orlando Magic, 93-67 on Friday and losing again to the Atlanta Hawks, last night in New Orleans, 94-72.

This is the first time the two teams have met since December 13, 2010. The Heat won their ninth straight contest that night in Miami, 96-84. Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 32 points, adding five rebounds. Chris Bosh added 23 points and 11 rebounds while LeBron James pitched in with 20 and seven assists. David West led the Hornets with 26 points and 12 assists.

Miami Heat vs New Orleans Hornets (96 - 84) December 13, 2010 (via HeatTeo)

The Heat beat the Chicago Bulls yesterday afternoon in Miami, 97-93, led by 35 points and 11 rebounds from LeBron James. Chris Bosh added 24 points with 12 boards, and Dwyane Wade chipped in 15 with seven assists. Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose paced the Bulls with 34 points and six assists. No other Bull scored more than 11. As said by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra,

"It was a highly contested basketball game, we did a lot of good things throughout the course of the game. You have to give those guys a lot of credit. At the end, they stepped up their defense."

Miami Heat Vs Chicago Bulls 1-29-12 NBA Season HD (via Tubekilla99)



The Hornets dropped a home game last night to the Atlanta Hawks, 94-72. Emeka Okafor led the Hornets with 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss. The Hawks were paced by Jeff Teague's 24 points and Willie Green's 16 off the bench.

NBA CIRCLE - Atlanta Hawks Vs New Orleans Hornets Highlights Jan 29, 2012 Game Recap (via NBACIRCLE)


Game Time: 7:30 EST

Season Series: 0-0

All-Time Series: 33-38

Last Five:

Miami: L - W - W - W - W

New Orleans: L - L - L - W - L

Standings:

Miami Heat: 15-5, first in the Southeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference, third in the NBA, on pace for 50-16.

New Orleans Hornets: 4-16, fifth in the Southwest Division, 15th in the Western Conference, tied for 27th in the NBA, on pace for 13-53.

Starting Lineups:

Miami Heat:

PG - Mario Chalmers

SG - Dwyane Wade

SF - LeBron James

PF - Chris Bosh

C - Joel Anthony

Udonis Haslem has a cracked rib, but is expected to play through it.

New Orleans Hornets:

PG - Jarrett Jack

SG - Marco Belinelli

SF - Trevor Ariza

PF - Jason Smith

C - Emeka Okafor

--------------------------------------------------------------

Common Thread:

No player on either team has played for their opponent.

Team Milestones:

Miami:

Tonight, Mario Chalmers plays in his 246th game, moving into a tie with Anthony Carter into 17th. 13 minutes will move him past Jamal Mashburn into 16th, with 6,602. Three more 3-pointers will put him at 310, passing Dwyane Wade into sixth. 10 more assists will move him past Jason Williams into 11th, with 917.

James Jones needs four more 3-pointers to pass James Posey into 13th, with 215.

One more block will put Udonis Haslem in 11th with 185, passing Brian Grant.

Three more steals will give franchise record holder Dwyane Wade 1,000 for his career.

New Orleans:

With three more 3-pointers, Marco Belinelli will pass Rex Chapman, with 164 into 13th.

Six more blocks and Emeka Okafor will have 284, moving him past Kenny Gattison into sixth.

Team Leaders: (minimum half of team games played)

PPG:

MIAMI:

LeBron James, 29.5

Chris Bosh, 21.4

Dwyane Wade,19.9

RPG:

Udonis Haslem, 8.6

LeBron James, 8.2

Chris Bosh, 8.0

APG:

LeBron James, 7.0

Dwyane Wade, 5.5

Mario Chalmers, 4.1

SPG:

Dwyane Wade, 2.2

LeBron James,1.8

Mario Chalmers, 1.4

BPG:

Dwyane Wade, 1.6

Joel Anthony ,1.1

Chris Bosh, 0.9

New Orleans:

PPG:

Jarrett Jack, 16.2

Carl Landry, 11.9

Trevor Ariza, 10.3

RPG:

Emeka Okafor, 8.5

Chris Kaman, 6.6

Trevor Ariza, 5.6

APG:

Jarrett Jack, 7.2

Greivis Vasquez, 3.4

Trevor Ariza, 2.6

SPG:

Trevor Ariza, 1.7

Greivis Vasquez, 1.1

Marco Belinelli, 0.9

BPG:

Emeka Okafor, Chris Kaman, 1.2

Jason Smith, 1.1

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.