Short-handed Heat beat Pelicans 123-111 in final game for both teams before All-Star break

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 27 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks and the short-handed Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-111 on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.

Miami used only nine players, with Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Pelle Larsson and Andrew Wiggins sidelined. Herro missed his 15th straight game.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 23 points, Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Simone Fontecchio scored 15 points. Eighth in the Eastern Conference, the Heat improved to 29-27. Miami has won 11 of its last 12 against New Orleans

Zion Williamson had 26 points for New Orleans. He has played a career-high 30 straight games and 40 of 56 this season. In his first six seasons, he played 214 of 472 games and never had more than 25 in a row.

Trey Murphy III added 19 points before leaving late in the third quarter because of soreness in his right shoulder. The Pelicans dropped to 15-41. They had won two in a row.

Ware hit a 3-pointer with 2:46 left in the third quarter to cap a 23-10 run that gave Miami a 92-76 lead. The Heat hit four 3s during that surge, one each by Kasparas Jakucionis, Fontecchio, Myron Gardner and Ware.

During that stretch, Jakucionis also hit three free throws after landing on Murphy’s foot on a missed 3 near sideline. Murphy was called for a flagrant foul.

Miami pushed the lead to 17 at 112-95 with 6:19 left in the fourth. After New Orleans cut it to 115-111 on Williamson’s putback, Fontecchio hit a 3 from the left corner with 54 seconds remaining to make it 118-111.

Miami led 58-55 at halftime. Adebayo had 15 points in the half.

Heat: At Atlanta on Friday, Feb. 20.

Pelicans: Host Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 20.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket against Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) passes around Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) goes to the basket between New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) and center Derik Queen (22) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) and guard Jeremiah Fears (0) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talk to players during a time out during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

PHOENIX (AP) — When Jennifer Rizzotti arrived at UConn as a player in 1992, the expectations around the school, as well as the women's basketball landscape, were much different than they are today.

Geno Auriemma was only in his eighth season coaching the Huskies. UConn hadn't yet hoisted a national championship trophy. There wasn't nearly the same pressure to win that the Huskies face now. And women's basketball as a whole hadn't seen the unprecedented growth in sponsorships and popularity it is experiencing now.

By the 1994-95 season, Rizzotti and fellow UConn standout Rebecca Lobo helped the Huskies go undefeated en route to their first national title. Everything about the program changed, and even as women's basketball has evolved and skyrocketed in exposure, the Huskies have remained the gold standard.

“There was no thought that we were going to be undefeated,” Rizzotti said. “We didn't have that internal pressure. We didn't have external pressure. That's the last time a UConn team could play that way. Think about that: 1995 is the last time a UConn team could play without that kind of pressure.”

The Huskies have since won 12 national titles, reached the Final Four 25 times and won 30 conference titles. They've been ranked 653 weeks in The Associated Press women's basketball poll, and Auriemma is the winningest coach in women's college basketball history.

As conversations around the Final Four in Phoenix center around how the women's game has grown, the Huskies, who are competing for the second straight national title, have been at the forefront.

“You could tell that everything was aligned for this program to reach that pinnacle," said Rizzotti, who is currently the president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. “I don't think anything of us would have predicted that it would have gone on as it had.”

Rizzotti joined former UConn players Stefanie Dolson, currently with the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and Shea Ralph, now Vanderbilt's coach, on a panel Friday at “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience,” which is being held at Arizona State’s First Amendment Forum in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Earlier Friday, Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) commissioner Rich Ensor and AP women’s poll founder Mel Greenberg spoke on a panel moderated by college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli on the growth of women's basketball at the college and pro levels.

“I think women's basketball has never been more popular,” said Ackerman, who was the first president of the WNBA from 1996-2005. “I think schools that are succeeding are really seeing, feeling and believing in the (return on investment). And UConn's a case in point.”

Ackerman sees the investment that the schools in this year's Final Four — UConn, Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — have made in their programs to reach back-to-back national semifinals as a reflection of the growing importance of pouring resources into women's hoops.

“And that's done a world of good,” she added. “Programs like South Carolina, UCLA, you see what they're doing for their campuses. The investment is paying off in terms of the brand and engagement with the community and school reputation.”

Even as women's sports are drawing record crowds and WNBA players are set to make more money than ever, Ensor sees much more room to capitalize on this current growth.

“It has been about breaking down barriers, and they still exist,” Ensor said. “We marvel at what's happened, but we still recognize there's a lot more that's to come.”

AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience: https://apnews.com/https:/apnews.com/projects/arizona-state-fan-poll-experience/

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

FILE - Connecticut's Breanna Stewart, left, drives to the basket as Cincinnati's Maya Benham, right, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

From left, Debbie Antonelli, Val Ackerman, Rich Ensor and Mel Greenberg sit on a panel during an event Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Val Ackerman, commissioner of the Big East Conference, listens during an event Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/John Locher)

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts after his team defeated Notre Dame in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)