Every year, the NBA gives us five Christmas matchups to enjoy during the holiday season. NBA Christmas is an annual tradition that invokes a lot of nostalgia for the players and fans alike. This year, the NBA was competing with the NFL with their Christmas matchups on Netflix. However, the NBA Christmas games ended up all being super competitive and fun.
NBA Christmas Recap
Knicks vs. Spurs
The NBA partnered with Disney plus to make the first ever NBA animated broadcast. Mickey Mouse and his friends played the game in real time, and even had a dunk contest during halftime. The NFL has done similar to this with Toy Story and the Simpsons. Disney is looking to push their bundle of Disney plus, Hulu and ESPN plus. They believe this is a strong way to attract a broad fanbase.
As for the game itself, it was close until the final buzzer. Mikal Bridges led the Knicks to victory with 41 points. He hit two mid-range shots in the fourth quarter to extend the Knicks lead to five. Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama had 42 points and 18 rebounds in the losing effort. Veteran Chris Paul hit a three-point shot with just 41 seconds left to get the game within three. However, it was too little too late.
Timberwolves vs. Mavericks
The second Christmas matchup was a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference finals. That series saw the Mavericks advance to the finals. However, on NBA Christmas Anthony Edwards and the Wolves came home with the victory. Edwards scored a team-high 26 points. The Timberwolves got off to a massive lead in the second quarter, scoring 31 points in the quarter to the Mavericks 16. Honestly, the only reason the final score was close was the Mavericks’ 31 to 15 run in the fourth quarter. However, this run was enough to make this game entertaining.
Although this loss was tough for the Mavericks, it’s not the worst news they got. Luka Doncic had to leave the game early and was later seen in crutches.
Sixers vs. Celtics
The biggest piece of news happened before the game. Joel Embiid was hurt during pregame shootarounds. Embiid has missed a lot of games this season to a variety of injuries. He still played today despite his injury and scored 27 points.
The Sixers got off to a five point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 118 to 114. Although Embiid’s story was remarkable Tyrese Maxey stole the show with 33 points and 12 assists. A strong third quarter gave the Celtics a lead, but it was short lived as Maxey had an assist and three point shot to take the lead back.
Lakers vs. Warriors
The LeBron and Curry rivalry has led to them matching up on Christmas many times since 2015. This latest chapter gave us another great game. The Lakers were leading for most of the game. However, Stephen Curry hit back-to-back threes to tie the game. Austin Reaves got a layup which eventually became the game-winner. Curry had what was probably the best Christmas Day game of his career with 38 points. Meanwhile, Reaves had a 26-point triple-double. Despite not having any big-time highlights LeBron James still held up his end of the rivalry with 31 points and 10 assists.
Anthony Davis had to leave the game just seven minutes in due to a non contact injury. However, the injury does not seem too serious as Davis has already said he plans to play the Lakers next game on Saturday December 28.
Suns vs. Nuggets
This game ended up being the least entertaining on NBA Christmas, but it was still good. The Suns had a narrow two-point lead at halftime. The Suns took over the second half and outscored the Nuggets by five in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal combined for 54 points. With Devin Booker hurt the Suns needed Beal to step up and he did exactly that. For the Nuggets Nikola Jokic had his usual great game with 25 points and 15 rebounds but more and more this season it hasn’t been enough.
