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MIAMI — After being deemed not worthy four of the past five years, the Miami Heat are returning to the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule.
As part of a preliminary release of selected games, it was revealed Tuesday that the Heat are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. Dec. 25 game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, a game to be televised by ABC.
In addition, it was revealed the Heat will open their 2026-27 schedule against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 21, in a game to be nationally televised by ESPN.
While the Heat have been reduced to the NBA play-in round the past four seasons, including missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season, the addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo clearly has raised the team’s national profile.
That should become even more apparent later this week, when the full 2025-26 NBA regular-season schedule is released at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The intrigue with the Boston Christmas game is how the Celtics move forward from the offseason trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. Added by the Celtics this offseason have been Paul George, Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley Jr.
The only time the Heat played in the NBA’s Christmas showcases over the past five years was when they defeated the 76ers 119-113 in 2023, in a game they were led by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 31 points. The Heat’s previous Christmas showcase was in 2020, when they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 at Kaseya Center, in a game played in the void of fans amid the pandemic.
The Heat have not played a Christmas game in front of fans at Kaseya Center since defeating the Pelicans 94-88 in 2015.
Overall, the Heat are 12-2 all-time in Christmas games over their 39 season, having won their last nine games on the holiday, a streak dating to a 2009 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is 9-0 in Christmas games.
Of improving to that record with the 2023 victory over the 76ers, Spoelstra said of playing on Christmas, “It’s an incredible honor and you don’t ever want to take it for granted. It really does mean something. You’re viewed as a contending team, typically, if you’re playing on Christmas.”
The Heat record for Christmas appearances is 11 by Dwyane Wade, who started every Heat Christmas appearance between 2004 and 2015.
Unlike during that previous era of Christmas games, the Heat and NBA again will have competition from the NFL on Dec. 25, with games between the Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears at 1 p.m., Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos at 4:25 p.m. and Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks at 8:15 p.m.
The starters in the Heat’s first-ever Christmas game were Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown, Alonzo Mourning, Voshon Lenard and Tim Hardaway, in a 90-80 road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 25, 1997. The starters in the Heat’s most recent Christmas appearance, that Dec. 25, 2024 victory over the 76ers, were Jaquez, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry. Adebayo and Nikola Jovic are the only remaining Heat players from the roster in that 2023 game.
As for the season opener, it will pit the Heat against the new-look Timberwolves, who in the offseason acquired LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets and traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets.
For the Heat, that will mean opening their schedule against the player who effectively ended their 2025-26 season, when Ball sidelined Adebayo in the fist half of a play-in loss, with a foul the NBA later ruled should have resulted in Ball being ejected. Instead, Ball scored the winning basket in overtime to end the Heat’s season.
The Heat are 20-18 all-time on opening night, having lost last season’s opening-night game on the road to the Orlando Magic. The last time the Heat opened at home, they lost in 2024 to the Magic.
This is the first time the Heat open a season against a Western Conference opponent since defeating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in their 2021 season opener.
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As part of a preliminary release of selected games, it was revealed Tuesday that the Heat are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. Dec. 25 game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, a game to be televised by ABC.
In addition, it was revealed the Heat will open their 2026-27 schedule against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 21, in a game to be nationally televised by ESPN.
While the Heat have been reduced to the NBA play-in round the past four seasons, including missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season, the addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo clearly has raised the team’s national profile.
That should become even more apparent later this week, when the full 2025-26 NBA regular-season schedule is released at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The intrigue with the Boston Christmas game is how the Celtics move forward from the offseason trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. Added by the Celtics this offseason have been Paul George, Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley Jr.
The only time the Heat played in the NBA’s Christmas showcases over the past five years was when they defeated the 76ers 119-113 in 2023, in a game they were led by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 31 points. The Heat’s previous Christmas showcase was in 2020, when they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 at Kaseya Center, in a game played in the void of fans amid the pandemic.
The Heat have not played a Christmas game in front of fans at Kaseya Center since defeating the Pelicans 94-88 in 2015.
Overall, the Heat are 12-2 all-time in Christmas games over their 39 season, having won their last nine games on the holiday, a streak dating to a 2009 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is 9-0 in Christmas games.
Of improving to that record with the 2023 victory over the 76ers, Spoelstra said of playing on Christmas, “It’s an incredible honor and you don’t ever want to take it for granted. It really does mean something. You’re viewed as a contending team, typically, if you’re playing on Christmas.”
The Heat record for Christmas appearances is 11 by Dwyane Wade, who started every Heat Christmas appearance between 2004 and 2015.
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Unlike during that previous era of Christmas games, the Heat and NBA again will have competition from the NFL on Dec. 25, with games between the Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears at 1 p.m., Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos at 4:25 p.m. and Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks at 8:15 p.m.
The starters in the Heat’s first-ever Christmas game were Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown, Alonzo Mourning, Voshon Lenard and Tim Hardaway, in a 90-80 road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 25, 1997. The starters in the Heat’s most recent Christmas appearance, that Dec. 25, 2024 victory over the 76ers, were Jaquez, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry. Adebayo and Nikola Jovic are the only remaining Heat players from the roster in that 2023 game.
As for the season opener, it will pit the Heat against the new-look Timberwolves, who in the offseason acquired LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets and traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets.
For the Heat, that will mean opening their schedule against the player who effectively ended their 2025-26 season, when Ball sidelined Adebayo in the fist half of a play-in loss, with a foul the NBA later ruled should have resulted in Ball being ejected. Instead, Ball scored the winning basket in overtime to end the Heat’s season.
The Heat are 20-18 all-time on opening night, having lost last season’s opening-night game on the road to the Orlando Magic. The last time the Heat opened at home, they lost in 2024 to the Magic.
This is the first time the Heat open a season against a Western Conference opponent since defeating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in their 2021 season opener.
Continue reading...
