NBA Christmas Day: Bosh, Heat edge Pelicans in overtime of sleepy opener

Chris Bosh and Anthony Davis both turned in huge games, but the Miami Heat got the W with a 94-88 win over the Pelicans on Christmas.

Author:
Rohan Nadkarni
Publish date:
Dec 25, 2015

In the first clash of the NBA's five-game slate, the Miami Heat edged the New Orleans Pelicans94–88 in overtime. Chris Bosh finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Anthony Davis put up 29 and 15 in the losing effort.

The Heat outlasted the Pelicans in a game in which both teams looked like they were sleepwalking through. Both shot horribly from the field (Heat 39.8%, Pelicans 40%), and it’s not promising for either offense when your team can’t score 100 points even with an extra five minutes. Miami led for most of the way, but failed to put the game away in the fourth quarter. After trading the lead back and forth in the last couple minutes, both teams airballed potential game-winning shots. The Heat finally buried the Pelicans with a 12–4 run to start the extra period. The best part of this game was definitely DJ Khaled’s snapchat.

• SI’s NBA Christmas Day Roundup: Analysis, best highlights and more

Naughty: Tyreke Evans, Pelicans. With 13 seconds left, the Pelicans called timeout, then took the floor with a chance to win the game. That’s when Tyreke Evans dribbled for five seconds, apparently forgetting what play Alvin Gentry drew up seconds before during the timeout. New Orleans took another timeout, only for Anthony Davis to badly miss a potential game-winner as time expired in regulation. Not Evans’s best work down the stretch.

• GOLLIVER: Draymond Green saves Christmas for Warriors vs. Cavs

Nice: Chris Bosh, Heat. Anthony Davis (29 points, 15 rebounds) and Chris Bosh (30 and 10) both played well, but Bosh takes home the Nice crown for putting the Pelicans away in OT. Bosh’s and-one in the extra frame more or less sealed the game for the Heat. His shot looked off at times (11-of-25 from the field, 2-of-8 from deep), but Bosh started and finished the contest strong, a nice day for him after he missed Miami’s Christmas game last year.

Style Watch: Our first look at the new Christmas jerseys met our expectations—they looked great. The cream lettering is an especially nice touch. The Heat would be better served using the Christmas unis as their alternates as opposed to many of their other looks. Also, DJ Khaled looked great using his phone during the entire game while sitting courtside.

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