Belt game 4,582 · December 26, 1996
Miami Heat take the belt
Miami Heat beat Orlando Magic 96–76 at home to start reign 2,023 of the NBA belt, the 18th for the franchise.
Orlando Magic had held it since December 23, 1996, with 0 defenses over 3 days.
Miami Heat held it for 9 days and 3 defenses, then lost it to Utah Jazz on January 4, 1997.
2,023Reign number
18Team's reign
3Defenses
9Days held
Box score
Miami Heat
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hardaway | 39 | 25 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 9-14 | 1-3 | 6-6 |
| Ike Austin | 22 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8-11 | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Sasha Danilovic | 41 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7-17 | 0-4 | 1-1 |
| Voshon Lenard | 30 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5-8 | 3-6 | 1-1 |
| Alonzo Mourning | 30 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5-11 | 0-0 | 3-4 |
| P.J. Brown | 26 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Martin Muursepp | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kurt Thomas | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Keith Askins | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| James Scott | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Mark Strickland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Gary Grant | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Orlando Magic
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Scott | 41 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6-14 | 4-6 | 2-2 |
| Brian Shaw | 36 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4-9 | 2-4 | 2-2 |
| Gerald Wilkins | 41 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4-13 | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Rony Seikaly | 38 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5-16 | 0-0 | 1-4 |
| Derek Strong | 22 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Horace Grant | 33 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Darrell Armstrong | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-6 | 1-4 | 0-0 |
| Kenny Smith | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| David Vaughn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Amal McCaskill | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Dan Schayes | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Nick Anderson | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).