NEW ORLEANS _ The first thing Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did upon touching down in Louisiana was make clear to his team that it wasn't in Miami anymore.
"This," he said "is now a different game, a different challenge."
Because for all the Heat built with the four-game winning streak they carried into Friday night's 110-104 loss to Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center, that success came at AmericanAirlines Arena.
On the road, the Heat were coming off a blown 22-point lead in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in their previous away game, at just 13-18 outside of from South Florida.
And there it was: nine-point deficit in the first quarter, 18 in the second, 19 in the third.
This time it wasn't going to be about a blown road lead ... just a short-circuited comeback.
Because after all that angst, a Derrick Jones Jr. layup with 3:55 to go drew the Heat within 97-96. Later, Duncan Robinson's eighth 3-pointer again drew the Heat within one, at 100-99 with 3:14 left.
But that's when, at 2 of 15 from the field to that stage, Brandon Ingram drained a jumper with 2:49 left to put the Pelicans up 102-99.
From there, Jimmy Butler went 1 for 2 from the line to make it 102-100, but back came Ingram, this time with a 3-pointer for a 105-100 lead with 1:35 left.
A Robinson turnover and a Bam Adebayo miss followed, effectively ending it.
Butler led the Heat with 28 points, supported by 24 from Robinson, 15 from Goran Dragic and nine points and 12 rebounds from Adebayo.
Williamson closed with 19 points for the Pelicans, with Jrue Holiday scoring 20, Josh Hart 19 and Lonzo Ball 16.
Robinson's first 3-pointer, early in the opening period, gave him 226 for the season, breaking Damon Jones' NBA record for most by an undrafted player. The record had been set in 2004-05 while Jones was with the Heat.
Robinson's next 3-pointer, early in the second period, tied Wayne Ellington's single-season franchise record of 227, a record set in 2017-18.
Robinson then broke the record on a conversion minutes later in the second, closing the first half 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, with the rest of his teammates 0 for 12 over the opening two periods.
The undrafted forward out of Michigan now has converted multiple 3-pointers in 46 consecutive games, one game shy of the franchise record that Rafer Alston completed in 2010.
Heat forward Jae Crowder was separated from some of his faculties in the second quarter on a collision with a driving Williamson, who turned the contact into a 3-point play with 5:29 left in the first half.
Crowder immediately was subbed out, heading immediately to the locker room while holding his head. The Heat initially described the injury as a "blow to the jaw."
Crowder did not return in the second half, casting questions for Sunday's game in Washington for the already short-handed Heat, who remain without Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard due to ankle issues.
Derrick Jones Jr., weighing in at a listed 210 pounds, opened defensively against 285-pound (listed) Williamson.
"He knows what his game is," Spoelstra said of Williamson, "and they do a great job of getting him in his strength zone. He's unique. You don't face a player like that every single night, with that kind of power, size and explosiveness."
Williamson made his first six shots before missing a driving layup midway through the third quarter.
It doesn't necessarily happen as often as some would prefer, but this one was Butler in attack mode from the outset.
He was up to 17 points by halftime, at 7 of 8 from the line to that stage. Trouble was that the rest of the Heat shot 5 of 11 from the line in the first half.
Butler went into the fourth quarter with 25 points, 11 of 12 from the line at that stage.
That, however, is when much of his offense stopped.
The Pelicans challenged a foul with 1:50 left in first half on Derrick Favors that would have left Adebayo going for a 3-point play to possibly pull the Heat within 62-48.
Instead, after replay review, an offensive foul was called on Adebayo, with the Heat still down 62-45.
Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart immediately went over to congratulate coach Alvin Gentry on the challenge.
Adebayo then was called for a foul on the other end, 13 seconds later, forced to sit the balance of the half. He later was forced from the game with his fourth foul with 2:18 left in the third quarter.
