The Miami Heat pulled off a big win on Christmas Day against the Philadelphia 76ers even if Joel Embiid didn't play. The Heat were short-handed themselves without Jimmy Butler.  That was no matter for the Heat as they got big contributions from Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. In the case of Jaquez, he joined a few NBA legends with his performance becoming only the fifth rookie to put up a stat line of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds on Christmas Day as per StatMuse.

In the Heat's win against the Sixers, Jaime Jaquez finished with a game-high 31 points and ten rebounds.  He joined Patrick Ewing, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy and Oscar Robertson as the only other rookies in NBA history to put up those numbers in a Christmas Day game.

Jaquez also had one assist and two steals. He shot 11-15 from the field, 1-3 from the three point line and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. While much of the Rookie of the Year discussion has centered around Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, Jaquez has legitimately thrown his name into the discussion as a dark-horse candidate.

Coming into the game, Jaquez had played in 29 games including six starts. He's been averaging 13.1 points per game, 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 50.5 percent shooting from the field, 38.1 percent shooting from the three point line and 83.9 percent shooting from the free throw line.

With the win, the Heat improved to 18-12. They have won five consecutive games and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They are essentially tied though percentage wise with the Orlando Magic who are in fourth.