Christmas Day and the NBA are synonymous. Sports fans can’t have one without the other. However, Christmas games mean players aren’t exactly celebrating the Christmas cheer in the same traditional ways that many others around the country do. The Miami HEAT faced the New Orleans Pelicans for the first game of Christmas Day.
South Florida is notorious for its very large Latin American community and the influence the Spanish culture has on everyday life has definitely shown up at the American Airlines Arena. Make no mistake, however. Many of the players have embraced the Spanish influence.
This might actually make Christmas easier for the HEAT players, since they usually play on Christmas Day. The Spanish are known for Buena Noche. Their Christmas celebration is actually on Christmas Eve and not the actual day of Christmas. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have come to grips with Christmas on Christmas Eve. However, Bosh might not be as thrilled by it as Wade.
The game was slow paced and low scoring in the first half. The American Airlines Arena was a little dead and some fans were feeling the effects of the pace of the game.
Nothing was really going right for the HEAT in the first half. Despite shooting 36% in the half, they led the Pelicans 38-42 after the half came a close. The 4th quarter made the difference. Chris Bosh, who may or may not have been feeling the effects of Buena Noche, came alive and finished with 30 pts at the end of the game.
It may have been an ugly win for the HEAT, but they all agreed they would take it regardless.