NBA on Christmas Day: Most memorable moments
Check out some great plays from Christmas Day games throughout NBA history!
It’s that special time of the year again as the NBA steps into the spotlight with the NBA on Christmas Day. Here are some of the standout moments and performances from the NBA’s storied holiday history.
1961: Chamberlain dominates in defeat — Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 points and grabbed 36 rebounds, but his Philadelphia Warriors lost to the New York Knicks 136-135 in double overtime. The rebounding total is a Christmas Day record, and the scoring total was a Christmas Day record for 22 years. Richie Guerin led New York with 40 points.
1961: Elgin and the Big O — The Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor and the Cincinnati Royals’ Oscar Robertson each scored 40 points in the Lakers’ 141-127 victory. Robertson also had 17 assists and 12 rebounds as he posted the second of his record four triple-doubles on Christmas Day.
1963: Jerry Christmas — The Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West scored 47 points – now the fourth-highest total by a player on Christmas Day – in a 134-126 win over the New York Knicks.
1966: Barry Christmas — Rick Barry scored 50 points to lift the San Francisco Warriors past the Cincinnati Royals 124-112. At the time, Barry joined Wilt Chamberlain (1961) as the only players to have a 50-point game on Christmas Day.
1972: Tiny dishes dimes — Nate “Tiny” Archibald of the Kansas City-Omaha Kings equaled a Christmas Day record with 18 assists in a 104-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. His performance came during the 1972-73 season, when he became the only player to lead the NBA in scoring (34.0 ppg) and assists (11.4 apg) in the same season.
1984: King goes for 60 — In the highest-scoring performance in Christmas Day history, the New York Knicks’ Bernard King finished with 60 points in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets. King became the third player to score at least 50 points on Christmas Day, joining Wilt Chamberlain (59 points in 1961) and Rick Barry (50 points in 1966).
1985: Knicks stun Celtics — Rookie Patrick Ewing (32 points, 11 rebounds) and the New York Knicks rallied from a 25-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics 113-104 in double-overtime. New York finished the season with a 23-59 record and Boston went 67-15 en route to winning the NBA championship.
1986: Ewing beats buzzer — Patrick Ewing’s put-back at the buzzer gave the New York Knicks an 86-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan scored 30 points in his first Christmas Day appearance.
1994: Pippen delivers — Scottie Pippen played all 53 minutes and posted 36 points, 16 rebounds and five steals to lead the Chicago Bulls past the New York Knicks 107-104 in overtime. He scored all seven of Chicago’s points in overtime and blocked two last-second shots to seal the victory.
1995: Finals rematch — For the first time, the teams from the previous season’s NBA Finals met on Christmas Day. Penny Hardaway scored 22 points with 10 assists, including the game-winning shot with three seconds left, as the Orlando Magic defeated the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets 92-90. Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal recorded 22 points, 18 rebounds and five assists, and Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
2003: T-Mac bests LeBron — Tracy McGrady finished with 41 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and three steals to lead the Orlando Magic past rookie LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-101 in overtime. James registered 34 points and six assists in his Christmas Day debut.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal meet for the first time since Shaq’s trade to the Miami Heat the previous offseason.
2004: Shaq vs. Kobe — Former Los Angeles Lakers teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal met for the first time since Shaq’s trade to the Miami Heat the previous offseason. The Heat extended their win streak to 11 games with a 104-102 overtime victory over the Lakers. Behind double-doubles from O’Neal (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Dwyane Wade (29 points, 10 assists), Miami overcame Bryant’s 42 points.
2008: Lakers end Celtics’ streak — In a rematch of the previous season’s NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the defending champion Boston Celtics’ 19-game winning streak with a 92-83 victory. The Lakers’ Phil Jackson notched his 1,000th win, the fastest head coach to do so and the sixth at the time to hit that mark.
2010: James joins exclusive club — In his first Christmas Day game with the Miami Heat, LeBron James finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 96-80 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. James became the first player in 40 years and the fourth overall at the time to record a triple-double on Christmas Day, joining Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek and Billy Cunningham.
2011: Rose rises up — Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose made a go-ahead shot with 4.8 seconds to play as the Chicago Bulls came back from an 11-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 88-87. Chicago’s Luol Deng blocked Kobe Bryant’s potential game-winning shot just before the buzzer.
2016: Cavaliers come back — The first matchup between the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors since their thrilling NBA Finals series the previous June featured more drama. Down 14 points early in the fourth quarter in Cleveland, the Cavaliers rallied to defeat the Warriors 109-108. Kyrie Irving made a go-ahead turnaround jump shot with 3.4 seconds left to spoil Kevin Durant’s 36-point effort for Golden State. LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
2018: Clutch Kyrie — Kyrie Irving made a game-tying shot with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter and sank back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime to spark the Boston Celtics to a 121-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
2021: Bucks finish strong — Trailing by 13 points with less than six minutes to play, the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks rallied past the Boston Celtics 117-113. Milwaukee took its first lead of the game on Wesley Matthews’ 3-pointer with 30.3 seconds left. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 36 points for the Bucks.
2022: Dominant in Denver — Nikola Jokic recorded 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Phoenix Suns 128-125 in overtime. Jokic became the third player in NBA history to have a 40/15/15 game in the regular season, joining Oscar Robertson and James Harden.
