Miami Heat smashed the New Orleans Pelicans with a 113-99 win at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night.

Starter Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 25 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists while Goran Dragic finished with 21 points, eight boards and five assists for the Heat. With the victory, the Miami team has won two straight games and climbed to the third spot of the Eastern Conference following Atlanta's loss.

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Miami's backup center Hassan Whiteside delivered another impressive double-double game performance of 24 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and a steal in 30:17 minutes of playing time.

"I got hot," the 7-foot Whiteside, who went 10 for 11 from the field, said. "I felt like they were kind of relaxed and I was getting a couple wide-open jumpers and I was trying to take advantage of them."

With the win, the Heat (41-29) moved a half game ahead in the team standings with the three teams (Atlanta, Boston and Charlotte) tied with 41 wins and 30 losses. They have won seven of their last ten games and improved to 18-16 on road.

The Heat began the opening quarter with a strong start as they took the lead for good with a 17-2 charge and led by as many as 22 in the third period.

New Orleans did not get within single digits again until Jrue Holiday's jump shot with 6:52 to go made it 96-87, part of a 13-0, fourth-quarter run that injected a measure of tension into the final six minutes.

However, Wade helped extinguish the hot run of the Pelicans when he fed Whiteside in the shaded area for a layup as the 2010 NBA draft 33^rd overall pick was fouled by Kendrick Perkins. Wade then floated in a shot over a crowd in the paint to make it 101-93.

Both Wade and Whiteside added mid-range jumpers that aided the Heat re-establish a comfortable lead.

Holiday had 24 points and Luke Babbitt finished with 23 points for the Pelicans, who dropped to 26-44.

TagsMiami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, NBA, Eastern Conference