Miami Heat hold off Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The Miami Heat watched a 31-point lead nearly evaporate, but escaped AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday with a 106-101 win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Dwyane Wade helped the Heat hold off its foes with 18 points off of the bench. Josh Richardson scored a team-high 20 points in the win.

"Tonight was definitely good for us," Wade said. "If we want to go on any kind of winning streak here, we've got to bottle up things that were good for us tonight and be able to do that more consistently as we go on."

Pelicans star Anthony Davis captained the comeback with 41 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. He scored 19 points in the third quarter after the Heat held a 61-41 lead at halftime. The Pelicans outscored the Heat 34-20 in the third frame.

New Orleans reduced Miami's lead to three points with 1:12 remaining, but the Heat held on to prohibit a three-game losing streak.

"I commended the guys the last three days," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Just the approach. There wasn't any feeling sorry for ourselves. It was just trying to get better. We need to get better. Even after tonight, we have to continue to get to another level."

The Heat host the Utah Jazz at 6 p.m. on Monday in Miami. The Pelicans face the Charlotte Hornets at 5 p.m. on Monday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.