The NBA Christmas Day schedule is here for 2015 and there are some big names in action with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose all playing. The top game this year has the Cavaliers and Warriors playing in an NBA finals rematch, while Bryant will play in his final Christmas Day game.
The NBA has a tradition of playing games on Christmas and here is a look back on some of the top games and performances from the holiday in the history of the league.
The 2006 game between the Lakers and Heat had a nice battle between Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, two players who will be playing on the holiday this season. The Heat won 101-85 and Wade scored 40 points, while Bryant only had 16 in the game. One of the more memorable games was the Heat taking on the Mavericks in 2011, as Dallas was able to raise their championship banners for that game after delayed start to the year. LeBron James had one of his better performances on the day, putting up 37 points and 10 rebounds as Miami won.
Back in 2000 the Lakers and the Blazers had a great Christmas Day game and that matchup saw Portland win over Los Angeles 109-104. The win came after the two teams played a hard fought playoffs series the previous season and that gave Portland the chance to get some revenge. Rasheed Wallace had a nice game with 33 points and the team finally got another win against the Lakers after losing to them in the western conference finals in seven games.
The Knicks and Bulls rivalry goes way back and the two teams battled on Christmas Day in 1994 in a game that went into overtime. Scottie Pippen had a strong game for the Bulls with 36 points and 15 rebounds and he later helped clinch the game in overtime with a block on the Knicks to keep Chicago ahead.
The Lakers and Heat played on Christmas back in 2010 and that game the first season for LeBron James in Miami. The Heat ended up dominating the Lakers in the game and won 96-80 and this game helped put Miami on track as they made a run the rest of the season. The Lakers and Celtics played in 2008 in a rematch of the NBA finals and this was a fun one to watch, as the Lakers came in at 23-5 and the Celtics were 27-2 at the time. The Lakers won against the Celtics and it was one of the best matchups of teams during the season.
