NEW ORLEANS: Jimmy Butler had 23 points and nine rebounds before being ejected after a fourth-quarter melee and the Miami Heat held off the New Orleans Pelicans 106-95 on Friday night before a hostile and emotionally charged crowd.

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami, which returned from its All-Star break by beating snapping the Pelicans' four-game winning streak in what also marked the Heat's seventh straight victory over the Pelicans.

Miami reserve Thomas Bryant, along with Pelicans players Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall, also were ejected after the on-court melee with 11:19 to go. Even a couple fans were escorted out, one of them after throwing things at Heat players from one of the first few rows.

"You never want to see that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the scuffle. "Once it was all done, the response was appropriate — discipline, physicality, force, but not going over the top."

The dust-up began when Heat center Kevin Love grabbed Zion Williamson to prevent a layup after Williamson had stolen the ball from Butler in the back court. Williamson fell to the court after Love's foul.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Naji Marshall (8), left, and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, right, get into a scuffle during the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Marshall and Butler were later ejected. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

"It was just, I think, a misunderstanding of the play," Spoelstra said. "I think Zion slipped on the play when K-Love grabbed him and it looked a lot worse than what it was. And then everybody kind of overreacted.

"I think they interpreted that K-Love threw (Williamson) down. On K-Love's best day, I don't think he could throw him down."

When play resumed, the Pelicans briefly surged in front when rookie Jordan Hawkins' 3 made it 91-89, but Heat reserve Haywood Highsmith quickly responded with a 3 that ignited a decisive 11-0 Miami run.

"It's a sign of good teams that even with Jimmy out, other guys could step up and they wanted it," Spoelstra said. "You could feel it that guys wanted to do it for Jimmy and just the context of everything was just figure out a way to finish this game."

Duncan Robinson scored 17 points and Tyler Herro scored 15 for the Heat. Herro, however, appeared to hurt his left knee with 1:40 left and hobbled straight to the locker room after he was helped to his feet.

Williamson had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for New Orleans, which played a second straight night without high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram (illness), and lost for just the second time in 10 games.

Herb Jones scored 19 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were done in by 37.5 percent shooting (39 of 104) — 7 of 32 (21.9 percent) from 3-point range.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) and guard Jordan Hawkins (24) block a shot by Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. AP PHOTO

Miami, by contrast, shot 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from deep and 46.3 percent (38 of 82) overall. New Orleans outrebounded Miami 54-46 and outscored the Heat 58-46 in the paint, but that was not enough to overcome the shooting disparity in the game.

Butler scored 17 points in the first half and gave Miami a lead as large as 19 when he tipped in Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s jump hook to make it 43-24. When Herro hit his second 3 of the game, the Heat led 55-37 with less that six minutes to go in the half.

That's when the Pelicans suddenly locked down defensively and began a dramatic 21-3 run to close the second quarter. It started with Williamson's free throws, followed by his putback.

Trey Murphy III, having missed his first seven shots, hit a 3 to pull the Pelicans back to 57-47. Alvarado added another from deep, followed by a reverse scoop that he spun in off the glass. Valanciunas finished the remarkable, crowd-energizing surge with a layup set up by Williamson to tie it at 58 at halftime.

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