MIAMI _ In this battle of attrition, perhaps a 2-2 week is the best that could have been hoped for, especially with a two-day Christmas break to follow.
Even with two players back in the rotation, the Miami Heat hardly found themselves whole in Saturday night's 109-94 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at AmericanAirlines Arena.
And it's not as if the health was enduring, with James Johnson returning from a three-game absence only to retreat to the locker room for the second half and Dion Waiters now out with another sprained left ankle.
So even with Goran Dragic returning after a three-game absence of his own, the Heat eventually wilted in the second half to fall to 7-8 at home and 17-16 overall.
With the size of the Pelicans' Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins impacting the Heat on both ends, and with New Orleans offering the type of 3-point shooting the Heat used to defeat the visiting Dallas Mavericks a night earlier, only Heat guard Tyler Johnson truly was able to find his way, closing with 20 points.
Cousins closed with 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, with Davis with 17 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
Dragic, after missing those previous three games with a sore left elbow, was back in the starting lineup, with James Johnson, after missing three games with ankle bursitis, back available off the bench.
Both had been expected to be out longer, at least until the Heat return after the Christmas break for Tuesday's home game against the Orlando Magic.
James Johnson, though, lasted only 8:09 before requiring additional treatment, grimacing during his time on the court.
"He just re-aggravated it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll find out how bad it was."
Dragic, who closed with 13 point on 5 of 15 shooting, starting alongside Tyler Johnson in the backcourt, with Josh Richardson at small forward and Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk in the power rotation.
"I thought it was good just for him to get out there and get some rhythm," Spoelstra said of Dragic.
It was the Heat's 10th starting lineup of the season and the first time those starting five players played together as a group at any point this season.
The problem for the Heat was Richardson, Olynyk and backup guard Wayne Ellington finding themselves unable to match the contributions they had offered when moving the Heat two games above .500 for the first time this season.
The Pelicans, continuing their hot 3-point shooting, pushed their lead to 17 in the third period and went into the fourth quarter ahead 83-69.
The ire of Spoelstra reached the point where he was called for a technical foul in the third period.
The Pelicans went into halftime up 56-53, after shooting .568 from the field in the first half.
Foul trouble was an early issue for both teams, with Tyler Johnson and Olynyk and the Pelicans' Cousins all with three in the first half.
The Heat took a Heat 28-27 lead into the second period when James Johnson converted a 3-pointer off an inbounds play with six-tenths of a second to play in first quarter.
The Heat got an early break when Cousins was called for his second foul and forced to the bench with 6:18 left in the opening period, after lobbying to stay in the game.
The Pelicans were without Alexis Ajinca (knee), Tony Allen (leg), Solomon Hill (hamstring) and Frank Jackson (foot).
