Erik Spoelstra

The Heat went all the way to the NBA Finals last season, ultimately losing to the Denver Nuggets, after securing the No.8 seed.

And they will be seeded eighth once again for their playoff campaign, which they will kick-off against the Boston Celtics, who the Heat defeated in the Conference finals last season.

Jimmy Butler could not feature against the Bulls on Friday due to injury, but Adebayo stepped up with 13 points while also marking Bulls star DeMar De Rozan.

"What we needed, what we felt like, was inspiration," Spoelstra told ESPN.

"And Bam was our most inspiring player, especially with Jimmy being out. The two of them are our most inspiring players. And they've always been.

"When they're locked in at their highest level competitively, we feel like we can beat anybody. With Jimmy out, I had to.

"We felt like DeRozan is a guy who can totally take over a game in a one-game deal. If our most inspiring player has to make an impact, it would be against their best scorer."

Butler is unlikely to feature at all against the Celtics, either, though Spoelstra has not yet paid mind to how he will look to keep the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under wraps.

"I haven't even thought about that," Spoelstra said.

"This was for this kind of deal, to set the tone for the game, to help alleviate any stress or pressure from anyone else in the locker room, Bam had to be that, which he was."

Looking ahead to the Celtics series, Adebayo said: "It's going to be a dogfight. It's going to be a battle. It's going to be in the mud.

"It's not going to be pretty basketball. That's usually how it is when we play that team."

The Heat came into the playoffs ranked fifth, making them the lowest seed to reach the Eastern Conference finals in 21 years.

The Bucks came into the playoffs as the conference's top seeds, but a 103-94 Heat victory in Tuesday's Game 5 secured a 4-1 triumph for Erik Spoelstra's team.

Butler certainly played his part in the series-clinching win, registering a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds after a shaky first quarter, and he was in a confident mood after the game.

When asked if the Heat had shown their best in the five meetings with the Bucks, Butler said: "No, I don't think so. I don't think we've played a full 48-minute game yet, and that what's promising.

"When we do lock in and decide to play from start to finish, I think the game would be a lot easier. I don't think it's happened yet, but we have to next round."

With regards to leading the team to the conference finals, Butler added: "It means a lot, but like you said, that's not my goal. That's not my guys' goal. It's not the organisation's goal.

"We want to win it, win a championship, and I think that's what we're focused on. These next eight are going to be much harder than the previous eight. We know that, but we're ready."

The Heat were boosted by Giannis Antetokounmpo missing out for the Bucks as he failed to shake off an ankle injury.

But Spoelstra was no less proud of his side, applauding them for their "journey".

"I want our guys to just step back at least for a night, if not two nights, and just reflect," Spoelstra said.

"It's not easy to get to the conference finals, and our organisation knows that. We've been trying desperately to get back to the conference finals. It's not our ultimate goal, we get it, but you can still acknowledge the journey, how hard it is to this point.

"That is why we brought Jimmy Butler here. That is why we put this team together with the veterans, adding Andre [Iguodala] and Jae [Crowder], building around Goran [Dragic] and Bam [Adebayo], having a young core.

"It was to try and do something in the playoffs. It's not easy to get to the conference finals. Otherwise, every team would be doing it."

The six-time All-Star finished with 45 in a 115-105 win to give the Heat a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

Only LeBron James (also three) and Dwyane Wade (seven) have previously had as many 40-point games for the Heat in the postseason as Butler.

Indeed, only James (26.9) and Wade (22.6) have averaged more points per game for the Heat in the postseason than Butler (21.9).

And coach Erik Spoelstra, who led a Heat team containing James and Wade to titles in 2012 and 2013, considers Butler worthy of comparison to the latter.

"It actually is a good comparison," Spoelstra said. "If you get in those pressure moments and the moments of truth, if you're on the other side, would you ever want to just give Dwyane Wade an open three?

"You would not, because he's a killer. He's going to seize that moment.

"And Jimmy has a lot of those same qualities. You can say whatever the percentage is – throw those all out when it becomes about winning. He'll find a way to kill you."

Butler's latest display was unlike anything previously seen by a Heat player, though.

At the start of the week, no player had finished with 40-plus points, five-plus rebounds, five-plus assists, no turnovers and no fouls in a playoff game since turnovers became an official statistic in 1977-78.

Butler became the second player to achieve such a stat line in two days, following in the footsteps of breakout Dallas Mavericks star Jalen Brunson.

The two previous 40-point playoff games from Butler had come in the 2020 run to the NBA Finals, which played out in the 'bubble' in Orlando.

But Butler, now paired with point guard Kyle Lowry, feels he is "a different player" in 2022.

"I am a different player now than I was then," he said. "I just always want to play basketball the right way and do whatever it takes to help this team, this organisation win. That's why they brought me here.

"I'm not as ball-dominant as I was in the bubble. We've got a point guard, and that's Kyle, and I love him being a point guard.

"I just get to go out there and try to score. And if I can't score, pass the ball. We're a different team; I'm a different player."

The Heat were beaten 116-105 by the Atlanta Hawks in the seventh seed clash on Tuesday at Kaseya Center.

A slow start from Miami saw them trail by 15 points at half-time, and they were unable to make up that deficit in the second as Atlanta eased to victory to book their place in the playoffs.

Butler scored 21 points with nine assists, but just four rebounds, and he lamented his and his teammates' inability to retrieve the ball all game, with the Hawks making 63 overall to the Heat's 39.

"We have to stay confident," Butler said. "We have to know we are capable of winning, if we start out the right way and if we rebound, obviously.

"But it's just, I don't know, shots don't go in, we foul, that's never the recipe for success with us. So come Friday, we've got to play legit the exact opposite that we played tonight.

"Rebounding was just horrendous. We didn't put body on body and they got all the rebounds, all the second-chance points. And that was the game."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra concurred, adding: "There's probably been a little bit more than a half-dozen times, maybe eight to 10 times, where we have not rebounded where it has just been absolutely crippling, in terms of how it's hurt us.

"We definitely have to get to the film and go back to all the fundamentals. We knew coming into this game, this game would be decided [by] ball in the air, ball on the floor, and it certainly was."

Hawks center Clint Capela made an impressive 21 rebounds in the game, and Heat guard Tyler Herro – who scored 26 points – thought bad luck came into play, but admitted that could not be used as an excuse.

"The ball was bouncing their way, literally, the whole game," Herro said. "But that's not any type of excuse to why we couldn't rebound the ball.

"They beat the hell out of us on the glass, so it wasn't even close. So we can point fingers, do whatever, at the end of the day they beat the hell out of us on the boards and that's what it is."

Trae Young starred for the Hawks, scoring 25 points with seven assists and eight rebounds, and he anticipates a tough encounter with the second seed Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

"Obviously, Boston is a really good team," Young said. "But I haven't really looked too far ahead. I mean, obviously I watched them all year. They've been playing really well. But I was really focused on tonight and making sure we won."

Young also referenced Butler's comments from earlier in the week when he said he thought the Heat would get the win, adding: "I know Jimmy guaranteed a dub, so I was really focused on making sure that didn't happen."

Butler praised Young after the game, saying: "He's a hell of a player. He makes all the right reads. Obviously, he's a big time shot-maker, and he even got eight rebounds, so I don't think we took too much away [from] them tonight."

The Knicks had won seven straight ahead of Friday's trip to the Heat but looked set to see that streak ended as they trailed by a point with only seconds remaining.

But Randle somehow worked room for a shot after initially fumble the ball on the right sideline and drained a stunning effort from three-point range.

Randle finished with 43 points and eight made threes, but it was understandably that final attempt that so frustrated Heat coach Spoelstra in a 122-120 defeat.

"If you did that play 100 times, 99 times out of that it's going to end up in our favour," Spoelstra said.

"That's just crazy unfortunate luck on our part and good fortune for them. He made a heck of a shot."

"Crazy" was how RJ Barrett described it, too, saying of Randle: "He just went crazy today.

"When you're in a mode like that and you're just making shots like that, the basket just gets bigger. We needed it, for sure."

Randle himself added: "It was fate. It felt good honestly when it left my hand. I was in the zone, I guess."

The forward so caught up in the moment he knocked Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to the floor as he ran the length of the court to celebrate.

"He's a little mad at me right now," Randle joked later. "I need to talk to him."

Embiid has not played so far in the second-round series, in which the 76ers now trail 2-0 after another defeat on Wednesday.

Although Tyrese Maxey went off for 34 points, Heat center Bam Adebayo (23 points and nine rebounds) enjoyed another big night in Embiid's absence to inspire a 119-103 win.

The 76ers will hope to get on the board as they head home to Philadelphia, but they may again be without their MVP candidate, who suffered a facial fracture and concussion against the Toronto Raptors in round one.

Coach Doc Rivers could offer no assurances ahead of Game 3, as he told reporters: "I really don't know [if Embiid can play].

"We talked [on Tuesday], and we talked [on Wednesday]. He looked good, as far as talking.

"But he's got so many steps to go through, and I don't think he's cleared any of them right now. So, we just have to wait and see."

Despite the Heat's dominant start, coach Erik Spoelstra remains wary of the series-altering impact of a potential Embiid return.

"It changes dramatically," Spoelstra said. "You're talking about MVP talent, you know? So, we'll just have to see.

"We knew that this series was going to shift, and it was going to change pretty dramatically [if Embiid returns].

"It's better for it to change dramatically when we're able to get a couple wins, but yeah, he changes the equation quite a bit."

Butler took over in the fourth quarter and scored an NBA playoffs career-best 40 points to put the Heat 1-0 up on the top-seeded Bucks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The five-time All-Star left the Chicago Bulls in acrimonious circumstances in 2017 and was traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves the following year after falling out with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

When the Philadelphia 76ers failed to make him a priority in free agency in the past offseason, he signed with the Heat.

Spoelstra feels Butler has landed in the ideal environment and flourished in the confines of the NBA bubble near Orlando, Florida.

"These are extreme circumstances, they're not easy for anybody. And you need a level of discipline, of structure, and camaraderie," said Spoelstra, via ESPN.

"Jimmy, despite what, probably, the narrative is out there, he's a very likable guy in the locker room, and I think that helps in a setting like this.

"He just fits everything about us, our fabric and who we are. Make or miss, everybody feels comfortable when he's making those decisions. He happened to score [on Monday] but he's a very unselfish player.

"It's not just about him scoring the basketball, he makes the appropriate reads depending on what's needed for that particular game. They [the Bucks] stepped up their defence, though, and you have to give them credit for that, and we basically had to put the ball in his hands.

"He wants these kinds of moments."

Butler said team-mates Andre Iguodala, Goran Dragic and Duncan Robinson told him to win the game for Miami, but he hopes other members of the team get to shine in the rest of the series.

"I told my team-mates I probably wasn't gonna pass the ball," Butler said of his approach down the stretch. "I made a couple shots, and they said, 'That's fine with me.'

"I don't know if it will be like that next game. I hope Tyler [Herro] is the one that'll be in the position where he feels like the rim is so big that he can't miss, or Goran, or Bam [Adebayo].

"We've got a lot of guys that are so comfortable, so confident. We're okay."

He added: "I've learned [to be able to take over games], but I've watched so many great players. And it's great to have D-Wade [Dwyane Wade] in my corner, I'm telling you.

"He's always in my phone, telling me about the game, what to look for. He's been a huge help. He's the first person that texts me tonight whenever I get back to the locker room.

"I'm learning. I've been learning. I will continue to learn. I just want to win, though. I can't say it enough."

Butler, 33, led the Heat to a shock NBA Finals appearance back in the 2020 'bubble' playoffs, and after a first-round exit in 2021, the Heat showed they still have plenty in the tank with another Eastern Conference Finals run this past year.

Although few picked them to win multiple rounds last season, the Heat still finished as the top seed in the East with a 53-29 record, which is in stark contrast to their 44-38 campaign this time around that has them seventh.

By finishing seventh, it means the Heat will participate in their first play-in tournament, hosting the Atlanta Hawks for a chance to claim the seventh seed, and if they lose they will play the winner of the nine-ten matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls for the eighth seed.

When asked on Monday if their position in the play-in meant Butler would embrace the underdog tag heading into this postseason, he was clear that is not the case.

"Nope," he said. "It's all the same. Didn't nobody pick us to win last year, either. So who cares. Y'all not going to pick us this year, still don't give a damn. In 10 years, y'all still not going to pick us – still don't give a damn."

Butler carried the Heat all the way to Game 7 against the Boston Celtics last season, narrowly missing out on another trip to the NBA Finals, but he said he does not feel external pressure to perform at the same level.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes for my team to win, night in and night out, and honestly, I could care less what anybody writes, if I was a good basketball player or a bad basketball player," he said. 

"Coach Pat [Riley] and coach [Erik Spoelstra] didn't bring me here because of what y'all write, in the most respectful way possible. 

"As I take on [Tuesday's] matchup and we get that dub, we'll worry about what goes on down the line, but I think I'm going to be a decent basketball player at the end of the day."

Head coach Erik Spoelstra was far less agitated, speaking about how excited he is for the new experience.

"First, I think this is going to be fun," he said. "I think you have to embrace this new experience. 

"To the old heads in our locker room, each of us have experienced long NBA careers and none have had this opportunity. I think it's been great for the league. 

"How harrowing this has been the last six, eight weeks for 16 teams in the West and the East, has just been great for competition."

Dedmon reacted angrily after being subbed out of the game, exchanging words with coaches, before storming off and flinging a massage gun back on to the court during play. The reserve center was ejected by officials for that act.

The Heat announced on Wednesday that in consultation with the NBA they had decided Dedmon would be banned for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team".

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra had labelled the outburst as "unacceptable" after Tuesday's game.

"It's the Miami Heat. We're all a bunch of gnarly personalities," Spoelstra said.

"That part was unfortunate. Everything before that, that's the Miami Heat. That part was unacceptable."

The Heat – who reached the 2020 Finals – acquired two-time All-Star Oladipo from the Houston Rockets at last week's NBA trade deadline in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley.

Oladipo started the year with the Indiana Pacers before he was moved to the Rockets as they dealt James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.

Now, Oladipo – who is averaging 21.2 points per game in 2020-21 – is preparing to make his second bow of the season.

"He's ready to go," Spoelstra said ahead of Wednesday's clash with the Pacers.

"We’ve had several Zoom sessions just to review and try to fast track our system. But he's a savvy, high-IQ veteran player. He's going to pick up things very quickly.

"He's been able to work out the last couple of days with Caron at the Arena, so they've been able to review some things, as well. I've talked him and we’ll see him when we get to Miami.

"All these circumstances are different than in a normal season, and these are just another example of how you have to adapt."

Spoelstra added: "I feel like I know Vic. I did reach out to Dwyane [Wade]. They've been working out together for years. And Dwyane, Vic and Coach Crean would always do like a weeklong training camp during the summer and get together. And I was always aware about what was going on during that week.

"So we're very familiar with him. We feel comfortable with guys that have been coached by Coach Crean, because you're going to get developed the right way and held accountable to the details. And I think you see that in his play. He's an IQ player that sees the game."

Before facing the Pacers midweek, the Heat (23-24) were eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks moved to 13-5 for the season and 4-0 in East Group B for the In-Season Tournament with Tuesday's 131-124 win over the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.

Milwaukee found themselves down 118-115 with three minutes and 25 seconds to play, but they finished on a 16-6 run to tee up a home game in the last eight, with Antetokounmpo leading the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The two-time MVP was ably supported by Lillard, who posted 32 points and nine assists, and Middleton, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. 

After the game, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin revealed Antetokounmpo had suggested feeding the ball to Middleton more often, and the star forward said doing so made Milwaukee less predictable.

"It's great, for me it's like heaven when you have two guys that can create their own shots, and I don't have to make something happen," Antetokounmpo said.

"It's great. My whole career it's been that way, and now also we have Khris and Dame that can do that. It makes the game easier for everybody. 

"Them breaking down the defenses is great, but if they can't, they can give the ball to me and I'll spread it to the corners or play one-on-one.

"Offensively, I think guys got to the spots and were able to execute, a few pick and rolls with Dame as the ball handler, a few pick and rolls with Khris as the ball handler… it was great. 

"I think it helps the flow of our offense when it doesn't always have to be Dame and Giannis, then we can play from there.

"I feel like that's where we are, all playing as a team, the energy is better, everybody has more touches of the ball, I think we can be more effective that way."

The Heat were made to pay for the absence of Jimmy Butler, who missed the game with an ankle sprain after averaging 37.6 points as Miami eliminated Milwaukee from the playoffs last season.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points for Miami, with Kyle Lowry adding 21 and Josh Richardson contributing 20, and head coach Erik Spoelstra was broadly pleased with their display, despite the result.

"I felt like we played a very good basketball game," Spoelstra said. "A very good offensive game, in particular."

Now 10-8 for the campaign and eliminated from the In-Season Tournament, Miami will look to halt their three-game losing streak when they face the Indiana Pacers in a home double-header later this week. 

Irving had 25 points in support of Luka Doncic, who fell just short of his 22nd triple-double of the season by finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists at Kaseya Center.

Dallas have hit 50 wins for the season with two games remaining, having won 16 times in their last 18 games, their only defeats in that span coming on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. 

After they pulled clear of the New Orleans Pelicans to become Southwest champions for the first time since 2020-21, Irving told his team-mates to celebrate, but also to stay focused on the bigger prizes.

"We just know that the job isn't finished and we're just getting started," Irving said after Wednesday's game. "But we do have to celebrate the small wins.

"Tonight was a step in that direction of celebrating a small win, just to get to 50 wins. Some guys in that locker room haven't experienced 50 wins. It's a total organizational effort, top to bottom."

The Mavs have won five in a row since last dropping a game against the Warriors, and they are now within one game of the Los Angeles Clippers for the Western Conference's fourth seed.

Head coach Jason Kidd said: "It sounds great. We've checked the box on one goal."

The Heat, meanwhile, saw their hopes of avoiding the Play-In Tournament take a blow as Jimmy Butler was held to just 12 points, Tyler Herro leading the hosts with 21.

Miami are now two games back of the Indiana Pacers, who occupy the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, and one behind the Philadelphia 76ers in seventh.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra is confident they will bounce back quickly, saying: "We have a great group. We have a very competitive locker room. We all want the same thing.

"Sometimes, this league can just really humble you, and that's what happened tonight."

The Heat had squandered a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, but Game 7 went their way in emphatic fashion.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points as the Heat won 103-84, ending the Celtics' bid at history in the process.

Boston was aiming to become the first team to win a seven-game series after losing the opening three encounters, but it was not to be.

"It wasn't scripted," Spoelstra told reporters.

"When you have such an intimate relationship with a locker room and they have it with each other, the staff has it with them, they have it with the staff, sometimes it's just whatever's raw, whatever's real at that time.

"Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don't always go your way.

"The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that collectively. There's a lot of different ways that it can go. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason.

"With this group, it's steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.

"These are lessons that hopefully we can pass along to our children, that you can develop this fortitude.

"Sometimes you have to suffer for the things that you want. Game 6, the only thing that we can do is sometimes you have to laugh at the things that make you cry."

The Heat are only the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to make the Finals, after the 1999 New York Knicks.

Butler was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP, and has full confidence the Heat can go all the way against the Denver Nuggets.

"I just know why coach Pat [Riley] and coach Spoelstra wanted me to be here," Butler said. "That's to compete at a high level and to win championships.

"I know that the group that they put around me at all times is going to give me an opportunity to do so.

"I know the work that we all put into it, so I know what we're capable of. Nobody is satisfied. We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference; we play to win the whole thing."

Spoelstra reserved special praise for the Heat's talisman.

"There's no way to quantify the confidence that he can instil in everybody. Jimmy has never had to apologise," Spoelstra said of Butler.

"I don't want him to ever apologise for who he is and how he approaches competition. It's intense. It's not for everybody, and we're not for everybody.

"That's why we think it's like an incredible marriage. We never judge him on that. He doesn't judge us for how crazy we get. It's the same language. But the confidence level that he can create for everybody on the roster is incredible.

"He's gnarly, but he knows how to have a soft touch to give somebody some confidence at the right time. That's the special gift that he has."

Butler was ruled out for a third straight game with a calf injury, but Miami maintained their 100 per cent record in those contests with a 119-113 victory at Kaseya Center.

The Sixers – who were themselves without Joel Embiid due to a sprained ankle – erased a 21-point Miami lead in the third quarter, but Jaquez scored 10 of his points in the fourth to put the visitors away.

That made the 22-year-old the first rookie to manage at least 25 points and 10 rebounds on December 25 since Patrick Ewing for the New York Knicks in 1985, and he was delighted to see his hard work pay off on the big stage.

"It's definitely special," Jaquez said. "Great to get a win, a career night, on Christmas... I grew up watching these games. 

"To be able to play and have a career night, I just go back to all the hard work, late nights in the gym, just preparing for moments like this."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who is now 9-0 on Christmas, said of Jaquez's performance: "I don't think I called one play for him tonight, literally. 

"I mean, they were in his zone most of the second half. But throughout the rest of the course of the game, I definitely did not call one play for him. 

"He did it with offensive rebounding, transitions, cuts, timely threes, just a lot of plays in between, so you don't really think that it's a 30-point game."

Tyrese Maxey endured a difficult outing for the Sixers, shooting 4-for-20 and finishing with just 12 points, well down on his season average of 25.9.

The star guard lamented his poor shooting as he said of the Miami defense: "They did the normal stuff that I see when I'm out there without Joel.

"The blitzing, the hard showing, but for the most part, I got some really good looks and some shots that I make I don't know, four or five times out of 10. So I guess it was just one of those days."

This year marks the 73rd edition of the NBA on Christmas Day, having started playing games in 1947 – the league's second season.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will be on show – the defending champions the headline act against Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks.

The Brooklyn Nets will be spearheaded by Christmas Day specialist Kevin Durant when they lock horns with the Boston Celtics, while Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat will be hoping for another Merry Christmas as they go head-to-head against Zion Williamson's New Orleans Pelicans.

Giannis Antetokounmpo – fresh off signing a mammoth supermax contract – will lead the Milwaukee Bucks against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, and Kawhi Leonard's Los Angeles Clippers will seek to avenge their stunning capitulation against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semi-finals.

We look at the best stats and facts on Christmas Day in the NBA using Stats Perform data.

361– James has the most career points on Christmas Day among active players, ahead of Durant (270), Russell Westbrook (241), James Harden (208) and Carmelo Anthony (186). All-time, James ranks third and he needs 17 points to surpass Oscar Robertson (377) for second place and 35 to leapfrog Kobe Bryant (395) for first place. The four-time NBA champion and MVP, who helped the Lakers snap their 10-year title drought in 2019-20, is also second for most career rebounds among active players on Christmas, behind former team-mate Dwight Howard (114) with 108.

97 – Lakers superstar James tops another category… assists. The 35-year-old is clear of Westbrook (82), Harden (58), ex-team-mate Rajon Rondo (55) and Curry (48) among active players. James is set to make his 14th appearance on Christmas Day. He has a 9-4 win-loss record while averaging 25.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. James is one win behind Dwyane Wade's record.

20 – Durant has scored at least 20 points in nine consecutive Christmas Day games, the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Robertson. The latter had 20-plus points in 10 straight games from 1960 to 1969. Durant has averaged 30.0 points in nine games on Christmas – an average only bettered by Anthony (31.0) among active players.

7-0 – Heat head coach Spoelstra is yet to lose in his seven Christmas Day contests. If last season's NBA Finals runners-up Miami win, Spoelstra will tie Phil Jackson for the longest Christmas Day streak by a head coach to start his career. The Heat have an NBA-best 10-2 record in games played on Christmas Day, while they have won seven successive games.

22 – The Lakers are playing on Christmas for the 22nd successive season, the second-longest streak in league history. The New York Knicks top the list following 38 straight appearances. The Lakers have the most all-time wins on Christmas Day with 23.

6– Six players have recorded a triple-double in a Christmas Day game – Draymond Green (2017), Westbrook (2013), James (2010), Billy Cunningham (1970), John Havlicek (1967) and Robertson (1960, 1961, 1963 and 1967).

60 – Bernard King holds the record for most points scored on Christmas Day. King registered a 60-point haul for the New York Knicks against the New Jersey Jets in 1984.

23 – The Pelicans' JJ Redick shares the record for most three-pointers on Christmas Day, alongside Houston Rockets star Harden. James and Durant have both made 22 shots from beyond the arc.

7 – Nets guard Kyrie Irving holds the record for most steals in a Christmas Day game following his performance for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Warriors in 2016.

1-5– Of the current NBA franchises, the Nuggets have the second-worst record on Christmas Day, just ahead of the Toronto Raptors (0-2). Since 2010, the Nuggets are 0-3 – the worst run.

That is according to forward Bam Adebayo, who had 21 points and was nine of 13 shooting in the Heat's 111-101 win at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Miami buried their hosts under a mountain of 3-pointers in Game 2, setting a franchise record for a postseason game by shooting 23 of 43 (53.5 per cent) from the field.

Speaking after the game, Adebayo said the way in which the Eastern Conference's eighth seeds have been written off by neutrals was spurring them on.

"We've been doubted a lot through our playoff runs, people saying we couldn't do a lot of stuff that we eventually did," Adebayo said.

"So for me and my team, why lose belief now? Our backs are against the wall. Everybody's against us. So just use that as fuel.

"Our guys believe we can win. So, let's make it mano a mano… a cage fight. Let's hoop!"

Caleb Martin joined Adebayo on 21 points with five 3s, being booed by the Boston crowd every time he touched the ball following his heavy collision with Jayson Tatum in Game 1.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 14 points with three 3s, Nikola Jovic added a trio of 3s and Haywood Highsmith came off the bench to sink three 3s.

Martin said Miami's new shoot-on-sight mentality was part of a plan drawn up by Erik Spoelstra, saying: "I think it was about realising that being passive hurts us. 

"We'd just be playing into their gameplan. We're too good of a shooting team to hesitate from 3."

Spoelstra himself said the Heat had taken the decision to be more proactive after being sunk by Boston's 3-point shooting in Game 1.

"I understand the math of it," the Miami coach said. "We're not going to shoot 50 of them. That's not realistic."

The optimism around the Heat - the fifth seed in the East - heading into the series was significantly dampened by Game 1 as they let an early lead slip and lost Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo to injury.

Butler also went down but battled on, playing again in Game 2 as the Lakers again came out on top on Friday, 124-114.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis tallied 33 and 32 points respectively and both look to be in the mood to clinch the Lakers' 17th title in double-quick time.

But Miami coach Spoelstra - LeBron's coach as the Heat won the championship in 2012 and 2013 - is adamant his team are not going away.

"We don't give a s*** what everybody else thinks," Spoelstra said. "What will it take? Whatever is necessary. Simple as that.

"If you want something badly enough, you'll figure it out. Our group is stubborn, persistent, and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent."

Butler - who had 25 points and 13 assists in Game 2, carrying Miami's hopes in the absence of Dragic and Adebayo - is similarly determined.

"We're never giving up," he said. "We're going to fight, and we're going to ride with this thing until the wheels fall off.

"It's not over. We're just down 0-2; we've got to do something special. We're capable of it.

"I wouldn't want to be in the trenches with any other guys except for the ones that we have. We believe in one another."

Butler added a warning, however: "We've got to play damn near perfect in order to beat those guys. We've yet to do it.

"And if we don't do it soon, it's not going to be pretty."

The Heat meet LeBron James and the Lakers in Game 5 on Friday, trailing 3-1 and facing defeat in the Finals at Walt Disney World Resort.

Miami face an uphill battle as the Lakers stand on the cusp of their first title since 2010 but Heat star Butler is refusing to surrender in Orlando.

"I don't think it's pressure," Butler told reporters on Thursday. "I think it's just win. Ain't nobody thinking about going home over here. It's just win, so there is no pressure.

"We're expected to win. That's our job. It's not win or go home, it's win or win. That's how we think about it."

"We know what we do every day," the five-time All-Star continued. "I mean, we just love to compete with one another. We realise that there's a chance that it won't look the same next year, but we're in it for the right now. We're going to give everything that we have for one another.

"And like I said, we go back and we're looking at stuff and we're correcting stuff, and we're like, damn, we see it on film. We've just got to be able to see these things in the game.

"So you know, everybody is looking forward to it. Everybody is ready to compete, ready to get one."

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who led Miami to championships in 2012 and 2013 during James' time with the franchise, added: "We think it's a really competitive series.

"We have a purpose of why we're here. We're competing for a title and it's the first team to four wins. There's a lot of different narratives out there -- we don't give a s*** what everybody else thinks.

"This is everything that we wanted this year, an opportunity to fight for, compete for a title. And that hasn't changed at all through these first games."

Adebayo (neck) and Dragic (foot) were forced to miss Friday's Game 2 loss as the Heat fell 2-0 behind the Lakers in the best-of-seven Finals at Walt Disney World Resort. 

The short-handed Heat will take to the court without Adebayo and Dragic after they were unable to prove their fitness for Sunday's showdown in Orlando, Florida. 

The duo suffered the injuries in Game 1 and have not played since. 

"I can see the anguish literally in the eyes, both of them," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And everybody in the locker room feels it. 

"When you're in the elite percentile of being a competitor in this league, get to this stage and have unfortunate injuries … I know in their soul, they both will do anything to get out there." 

"They've put their heart and soul into this," Spoelstra continued. "We're all feeling it. It's just the most responsible thing to do right now." 

LeBron James and the top-seeded Lakers are two wins away from the franchise's first championship in 10 years. 

Game 4 between the Lakers and Heat is on Tuesday. 

The Heat on Saturday claimed a surprise 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Eastern Conference top seed, but the victory was soured by Oladipo's exit with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.

Oladipo went down on a drive to the bucket following a foul from Bobby Portis, immediately clutching his left knee with an ominous look on his face, before being assisted off the court, sparking major fears for the injury-cursed guard.

"An MRI has revealed that Victor Oladipo suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the postseason," the Heat announced on Sunday.

The blow comes after Oladipo only played 79 games across the previous three seasons due to a run of injuries.

Oladipo played 42 regular season games this season, averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

He joins Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro on the sidelines after he broke his right hand in Game 1, ruling him out of the series.

Heat star Jimmy Butler had an injury scare in Game 3, sitting out the last quarter with a bruised glute, but head coach Erik Spoelstra declared he should be available for Game 4 in Miami on Monday.