In their preseason opener at the KFC Yum! Center in front of a sellout crowd of 20,074, Pelicans tussled with the Miami Heat, which is still projected to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference despite LeBron James' free agency departure to Cleveland.
The Pelicans, who will play the Atlanta Hawks on the road for their second preseason game on Monday night, appeared to be in rhythm from the start.
Jimmer Fredette scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also had three assists and two steals.