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SPORTS SHORTS 4: MEMORABLE NBA GAMES ON CHRISTMAS DAY By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Fri, 25 Dec 2020  The games conducted by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Christmas Day, December 25, have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. The NBA scheduled Christmas Day games with no fixed opposing teams, however they would feature some of the best teams and the most desirable players. Usually teams contending in the previous season's NBA Finals would face on Christmas Day. The first NBA game played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA's founding when it was still then known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). In that first Christmas Day game, the New York Knicks defeated the Providence Steamrollers at Madison Square Garden 89–75. * * * 1984: In front of a Madison Square Garden crowd, Bernard King topscored his team against the New Jersey Nets for a Christmas Day-record 60 points. His team New York Knicks was however beaten 120-114. But King would be remembered for that game because of his performance. King won the scoring title that season and this Christmas Day achievement was his highest point total of the season. King joined Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 59 points in 1961, and Rick Barry, with 50 points in 1966, to become the third player to score at least 50 points on Christmas day. * * * 1985: Rookie Patrick Ewing scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the New York Knicks rallied from a 25-point deficit to surprise the Boston Celtics 113-104 in double overtime. Kevin McHale led the Celtics with 29 points, but he missed 14 of 21 field goal attempts. One of his misses was a potential game winner at the buzzer that was blocked by 6-foot-5 Ernie Grunfeld. The Knicks finished the season below 50% winning percentage, and would end up 23-59 after losing star forward Bernard King to a knee injury. The Celtics went on to win the NBA championship behind the leadership of Larry Bird. * * * 1986: It was the Christmas game that showcased two emerging basketball legends early in their career. The Chicago Bulls were led by a rising superstar Michael Jordan, and the New York Knicks steered by its franchise player Patrick Ewing. Jordan’s first Christmas Day face-off was super exciting till the end, with Ewing and company eventually emerging victorious, 86-85. Jordan led all scorers with 30 points, but Ewing rebounded a missed shot and hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer to give the Knicks an 86-85 victory. The Bulls and Knicks later would regularly play on Christmas Day and creating an epic NBA rivalry with Jordan and Ewing. * * * 1993: Scottie Pippen proved he can do the job even without Michael Jordan, who had retired after the previous season ended. Pippen collected 28 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and 4 steals playing all 48 minutes against Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway and the Orlando Magic. The winning basket was delivered by Toni Kukoc to give the Chicago Bulls a 95-93 victory, with two seconds left, extending the Bulls' win streak to nine games. * * * 2004: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal won three-peat as world champions when they played together for the Lakers together. But they had some misunderstanding too. So on July 2004, the Lakers traded O’Neal to the Miami Heat and the NBA scheduled their first meeting for Christmas night. The game was so intense, as Bryant scored 42 points and drew O’Neal’s fifth and sixth fouls, forcing Shaq to go to the bench with the scores tied at 91-91. The game went into overtime and Dwyane Wade led the Heat to a 104-102 win. Bryant missed a game winning three-pointer as time expired. O'Neal had 24 points with 11 rebounds and Wade contributed 29 points with 10 assists. * * * 2008: The defending champion Boston Celtics were on a 19-game winning streak and facing the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time since defeating them in the most recent NBA Finals. On this night, four Lakers scored in double digits and beat the Celtics 92-83. The win was Lakers head coach Phil Jackson’s 1,000th in his NBA coaching career. Kobe Bryant had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Pau Gasol scored 7 of his 20 points in the final three minutes, snapping Boston's winning streak. * * * 2010: LeBron James tallied 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double in his first Christmas Day game with Miami, a 96-80 victory over the Lakers. James became the fourth player to notch a triple-double on Christmas, joining Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek and Billy Cunningham. Russell Westbrook joined the list in 2013 and Draymond Green did so in 2017. Chris Bosh added 24 points for the Heat, while Dwyane Wade chipped in with 18 despite a sore left knee. * * * 2011: Christmas Day also served as Opening Day due to the lockout that shortened the NBA season to 66 games. It was Luol Deng's defense that allowed the Bulls to claim the 88-87 victory with a Derrick Rose floating shot. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points on 21 shots, but an errant pass at the end of the game that Deng stole gave Rose the chance to take down the Lakers. Rose, the reigning MVP, had 22 points and 5 assists while Deng had 21 points and 4 steals. * * * 2016: The first encounter between the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors since their NBA Finals series on June the previous season showed more drama and intensity. The Cavaliers rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors 109-108. Kyrie Irving hit the winning basket over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left to ruin Kevin Durant's 36-point hot scoring for Golden State. LeBron James led the Cavs with 31 points and 13 rebounds. James became the third player to surpass 300 points on Christmas Day, behind Kobe Bryant (395) and Oscar Robertson (377). * * * 2018: The Los Angeles Lakers lost LeBron James in the third quarter when he suffered a strained left groin but still was able to beat the two-time defending champions Golden State Warriors without him. James got 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists before the injury and they surprisingly won 127-101 over the Warriors. After that, James missed 17 consecutive games from late December to late January and played only 55 games that season which was the lowest in his career. Kuzma contributed 19 points, Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Rajon Rondo 15 points and 10 assists off the bench as the Lakers ended an 11-game losing streak on the Warriors' home court since December 22, 2012. Merry Christmas from me and my wife Chona and sons Mallory, Marton and Marlon. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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