Brandon Ingram grew up in North Carolina watching Christmas NBA games on an annual basis, while dreaming about what it would be like to actually play in those nationally-televised matchups. Now in his fifth NBA season, competing on Dec. 25 has become the norm for the 6-foot-7 forward. On Friday, when New Orleans visits Miami (11 a.m. Central, ESPN, Fox Sports New Orleans), it will be the fourth Christmas appearance of Ingram’s career (he’d be 5-for-5 if not for being inactive in ’17 for a Lakers-Timberwolves game).
“It’s very special,” Ingram said of getting to play again on the holiday. “Growing up as a kid, watching these games every (year) when I was little, I always imagined playing on Christmas Day. For it to actually happen, I’d just like to take full advantage of it and make sure it’s a great day and enjoy myself and the people around me.”
Ingram fully capitalized on the national platform a year ago, powering New Orleans to its first-ever win on Christmas, scoring 31 points and going 7/9 from three-point range at Denver. Although Ingram should be accustomed to Dec. 25 basketball, that hasn’t historically been the case for Pelicans fans, whose team was chosen to play on Christmas only once in the franchise’s first 13 seasons. However, holiday hoops may soon become a Crescent City tradition, because the Pelicans will be playing on Dec. 25 for a second straight year and a third time since 2015.
Ingram and his teammates would love to repeat how they performed in the second half of Wednesday’s 113-99 victory over Toronto, which was highlighted by a 32-12 run. JJ Redick – who coincidentally played in the first-ever New Orleans Christmas game in 2008, but for the opposing Orlando Magic – helped the Pelicans race past the Raptors last night by shooting 6/11 on three-pointers and tallying 23 points. Ingram went for a game-best 24 points. En route to recording a win in his debut as Pelicans head coach, Stan Van Gundy was appreciative of the way New Orleans bounced back from a very rough start at Amalie Arena. The Pelicans overcame coughing up 27 turnovers and errant foul shooting (10 of 20), rallying from behind to overtake the NBA’s 2019 champions.
“We fought very hard in a game that was very frustrating,” Van Gundy said. “We were turning the ball over, we were in foul trouble, not a lot was going right for us. We hung in there and kept fighting. I was happy with our resilience in the game.”
On Christmas, New Orleans has a chance to start 2-0 for just the second time in the past eight seasons (the Pelicans began 2017-18 at 4-0, but then lost six straight). Van Gundy acknowledged Wednesday that many NBA players view playing on Dec. 25 as a reward for on-court success.
“The players really like it,” said Van Gundy, who coached against New Orleans in the ’08 Christmas game, an 88-68 Magic win. “They feel good about being one of those games featured on Christmas Day. I think our guys are excited.”
“I think it’s special,” said guard Eric Bledsoe, who started a Milwaukee-New York game in '18. “Playing on Christmas, a lot of teams don’t get to do it. It’s something you can always look back on and say you did something that’s meaningful.”
“I think it matters a lot, to me personally,” said center Steven Adams, a six-time participant. “Because not every team plays on Christmas. So it’s actually a huge honor and it should be treated as such. It means you’re one of the special teams.”