The Miami Heat play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Arena on Christmas Day.

The Heat (0-1) are coming off a loss in their first game of the season, as they fell short against the Magic in a hard-fought contest that went down the wire. Despite having five players score in double digits, including two with at least 20, the Heat fell short as they gave up a late rally. Bam Adebayo was the high-point man for the Heat, with 25 points, along with 11 rebounds, four assists and a block. Goran Dragic added 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds off the bench, while Tyler Herro, who started at point guard, finished with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, in 32 minutes of action. Jimmy Butler was impactful with seven steals to go along with 19 points, seven assists and three rebounds. The Heat shot only 20 threes in the contest and converted seven of them. They did a great job of moving the ball, with 25 assists, and they outscored their opponent by 10 in the paint, but they gave up 22 turnovers in the contest, which is something they will need to tighten up in order to compete with the Pelicans, who are coming off an impressive win.

The Pelicans (1-0) defeated the Raptors in their season-opener on Wednesday, as they outscored their opponent, 63-42, in the second half to secure the win. Despite a few new additions to the lineup, the Pelicans played well together, tallying 30 assists on 42 made field goals. They also shot 52 percent from the field, including 19-of-42 from long range. Brandon Ingram came up clutch for the Pelicans and finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 11 assists, nine rebounds, three steals and a block. Zion Williamson added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while J.J. Redick poured in 23 points, in 28 minutes off the bench. Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe both had solid outings and fit in well with their new squad. The Pelicans will be looking to build on momentum and need to bring the intensity from the start, as the Heat have had their wake-up call and will be looking to start strong as well.