NBA 2021: The National Basketball Association (NBA) have a can’t-miss slate of games prepared for the annual Christmas Day extravaganza.
This year’s Christmas slate promises nearly 13 hours of back-to-back basketball action from the top teams across the league. The slate of games tip-off at 10:30 PM (December 25) with an Eastern Conference rivalry matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks.
NBA 2021: NBA gears up for Christmas Day action with five blockbuster games
Also read: NBA 2021: Nets’ game against Trail Blazers postponed due to depleted squad
NBA 2021: The Hawks and Knicks met in the first round of the 2021 Playoffs, which saw the Hawks triumph en route to an Eastern Conference finals berth. The spirited series, which electrified both fan bases, could signal a new chapter in a rivalry between two franchises that have played against each other since 1949. Christmas night sees them add more chapters to this budding rivalry.
The next game will feature reigning NBA Champions, Milwaukee Bucks take on the Boston Celtics at 01:00 AM (December 26). This is a reprisal of a historic rivalry, with Boston and Milwaukee’s classic matchup in the 1974 NBA finals, which the Celtics won in seven games.
The teams also played four playoff series against each other in the 1980s, including two Eastern Conference Finals. Back-to-back playoff meetings in 2018 and 2019 and several dramatic regular-season games in recent seasons have given the rivalry a modern spin.
A top-of-the-table Western Conference clash will be up next between the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns at 03:30 AM. The Suns went undefeated in November and set the franchise’s longest winning streak, which included a win over the Warriors before Golden State ended the streak at 18 wins.
The Suns are the reigning Western Conference champions, a position the Warriors held for five straight years from 2015-19. With Chris Paul and Devin Booker on one side and Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the other, Suns vs. Warriors is a must-see theater right now.
NBA 2021: NBA gears up for Christmas Day action with five blockbuster games
A super-heavyweight clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets is the penultimate game of this stacked bill. This game will feature 6 players that feature on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook from the Lakers, with James Harden and Kevin Durant from the Nets.
LeBron James is poised to become the career scoring leader on Christmas Day, needing 13 points to pass Kobe Bryant for the top spot.
The final game will see the Dallas Mavericks take on the Utah Jazz (6:30 AM) in a featured matchup of two of the brightest young guards in the league. Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell are front and center in this golden age of young talent in the NBA.
Both are two-time NBA All-Stars with dynamic games and fearless personalities. Mitchell already has two 50-point games in the Playoffs, while Doncic averages more than 33 points per game in the Playoffs and made an iconic game-winner over the LA Clippers in the Orlando Bubble. All eyes will be on them in a showcase game on Christmas Day – which is just how they like it.
NBA 2021: NBA gears up for Christmas Day action with five blockbuster games
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