Heat not taking Christmas opportunity vs. 76ers for granted. Also, Butler and Embiid injury update

The Miami Heat has established itself as one of the most successful and stable organizations in the NBA. Since Pat Riley joined the organization in 1995, the Heat has advanced to the playoffs in 22 of the last 28 seasons, made the NBA Finals seven times and won three NBA championships.

Another impressive accomplishment during that stretch: Only the Los Angeles Lakers have played in more Christmas Day games than the Heat since Riley was hired by Miami.

With Christmas usually reserved for the best and/or most popular teams in the league, the Heat is tied with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics for the second-most Christmas games at 13 during that span behind only the Lakers’ 25 games on the holiday.

The Heat (17-12) will play on Christmas for the 14th time in franchise history on Monday, when it hosts the Philadelphia 76ers (20-8) at Kaseya Center in a prime time holiday matchup (8 p.m., ESPN). It marks the first time the Heat has faced the 76ers on Christmas.

“I always mention it to our locker room that it is an honor to have that opportunity to play on Christmas,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The whole league doesn’t play on the holiday. There were several years in a row, where we were never considered for playing on Christmas. Then you go back before, you almost took it for granted that we were always going to play on Christmas. So I don’t want any of our guys to [take it for granted], and I know they don’t.”

The Heat has had plenty of success on Christmas, too, with an 11-2 all-time record on the holiday. Among the 19 NBA franchises who entered this season with at least 10 appearances on Christmas, the Heat holds the highest winning percentage on the holiday at .846.

The Heat also enters Monday’s game against the 76ers riding an eight-game winning streak on Christmas. The last Christmas game the Heat lost came against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007.

And Spoelstra is 8-0 on Christmas as the Heat’s head coach. The only other head coaches in the NBA, NHL and NFL who are undefeated on the holiday (minimum five games) are Les Harrison, who posted a 7-0 Christmas record as the coach of the NBA’s Rochester Royals in the 1940s and ’50s, and Frank Boucher, who was 6-0-1 on Christmas as the coach of the New York Rangers (1939-54).

“It’s always exciting to play a game like that,” Heat forward Caleb Martin said. “Every NBA player wants to be able to play on a stage like that, where everybody is going to be watching. I think it will be a cool experience.”

Martin is one of nine players on the Heat’s 17-man roster, including three two-way contract players, who have never played on Christmas before. But the Heat has a few players who have prior game experience on the holiday.

Jimmy Butler has played in eight Christmas games, Kevin Love has played in four Christmas games and Josh Richardson has played in two Christmas games. Also, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson and Thomas Bryant have taken part in one Christmas game before.

“I think it’s a big matchup for us,” said Love, whose four previous Christmas games came as a member of the Cavaliers. “[The 76ers are] ahead of us in the standings. But I think it’s just another opportunity for us, knowing that you grow up and you want to play on Christmas Day.”

The Heat enters with some momentum with wins in five of its last seven games, as it looks to go six games above .500 for the first time this season with a victory on Monday.

To continue its winning ways on Christmas, the Heat will need to find a way defeat one of the NBA’s top teams. The 76ers have won eight of their last nine games to enter the matchup with the fourth-best record in the NBA behind the league’s second-ranked offensive rating and third-ranked defensive rating.

But the 76ers will be without the NBA’s reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who has been ruled out for the game because of a sprained right ankle.

“We’re excited for it,” Robinson said. “They’re playing really well right now. It will be a great challenge to get a home game here on Christmas. So we’re excited to play here and just get out there and compete.”

The Heat has to work on the holiday, but players and coaches don’t take it for granted. They know what it represents.

“That’s a special day and a special opportunity to compete and do what we love on a great holiday,” Spoelstra said. “We get the morning, we get Christmas Eve, these are a bunch of wins. But we just got to make sure that we get the win.”

INJURY REPORT

The three Heat players who did not practice on Sunday ahead of Monday’s Christmas game were Butler (strained left calf), Haywood Highsmith (head cold) and Dru Smith (season-ending knee injury).

Butler and Highsmith are listed as questionable, and Richardson (back spasms) is listed as probable. Smith is the only Heat player who has been ruled out for the contest.

Along with Embiid, the 76ers ruled out Nicolas Batum (right hamstring strain), Ricky Council IV (G League) and Terquavion Smith (G League) for Monday’s game in Miami. Also, Mo Bamba (illness) and Robert Covington (right knee effusion) are listed as probable.