NBA Christmas games | Bandera

NBA Christmas games

Henry Liao |December 26,2017
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NBA Christmas games

Henry Liao - December 26, 2017 - 12:07 AM

AS in the previous years, there are five games to be played on Christmas Day (today, Manila time) in the National Basketball Association.
The high-profile five-game bill features (in chronological order) Philadelphia at New York, Cleveland at Golden State, Washington at Boston, Houston at Oklahoma City, and Minnesota at the Los Angeles Lakers.
In hosting the “Trust the Process”-revitalized Philadelphia 76ers at the tradition-steeped Madison Square Garden, the resurging New York Knicks will be marking their NBA record-extending 52nd Christmas Day assignment in franchise history. At 22-29, the Big Apple outfit owns the league records for the most victories and most defeats during the holiday.
The 76ers, who have not had a winning season since 2007-08 (42-40), will be playing on Christmas for the first time since 2001 when Hall-of-Fame guard Allen Iverson powered Philly to its most recent Finals appearance.
This time, the young Sixers will be led by leading NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons from Australia and injury-prone center Joel Embiid (24.1 ppg, 11 rpg and 1.9 bpg) from Cameroon, who is expected to suit up after sitting out four straight games due to a sore back.
The defending NBA titlist Golden State Warriors and the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, who fought in the Finals for an unprecedented third straight time last June, is again the centerpiece game of the Christmas Day fireworks for the third consecutive year.
The Dubs will rely much on 2017 Finals MVP Kevin Durant as they won’t have the services of meal ticket Stephen Curry, who has not fully recovered from a right ankle sprain he suffered at New Orleans on December 4 that will force him to miss a ninth straight game during the holiday.
The Cavaliers likewise will be without summer trade acquisition Isaiah Thomas, who is still recovering from a right hip injury that he aggravated during the 2017 playoffs while still donning colors of the Boston Celtics and won’t be available for action until the first week of January, and injury-prone 29-year-old guard Derrick Rose, the youngest NBA MVP in 2011 at age 22 while playing for the Chicago Bulls, due to a bone spur in his left ankle that temporarily led him to a nearly two-week sabbatical from the team starting November 22 to contemplate on retirement.
The Boston Celtics will host the Washington Wizards at the TD Garden with ex-Cavalier Kyrie Irving, the All-Star guard traded for Thomas, leading the way in the absence of free-agent acquisition Gordon Hayward, who suffered a gruesome ankle injury during the Hub City squad’s season opener against Cleveland but could still be returning before the end of the regular wars if his rehabilitation program continues to progress quickly.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by current NBA triple-double leader (11 games) and reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, will host the Houston Rockets, who are currently plagued by injuries to starting backcourters James Harden, currently No. 1 in the NBA in scoring (32.5 ppg) and No. 3 in assists (9.0 apg) who has been playing with a bruised right knee, and playmaker de luxe, suffered a strained left adductor in a December 20 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers after earlier being sidelined for a month (14 DNPs) due to a bruised left knee he sustained in the Rockets’ season opener against Golden State last October 17 before returning to the lineup on November 16.
The youthful but exciting Lakers, bannered by rookies forward Kyle Kuzma, the club’s scoring leader (17.7 ppg) who racked up a career-high 38 points in the December 20 win over Houston despite Harden’s 51 points (he has had two straight 51-point games heading to the Christmas game – and third for the season overall – after making a career-best 56 points – one short of LeBron’s NBA season-high 57 during a victory over Utah on November 5) and playmaker Lonzo Ball (10.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, club-leading 7.1 apg), second-year power forward Brandon Ingram (16.0 ppg), third-year frontliner Larry Nance Jr. and fourth-year reserves forward Julius Randle (12.6 ppg) and guard Jordan Clarkson (13.9 ppg), will play host at the Staples Center to a Minnesota Timberwolves side powered by vocal veteran guard Jimmy Butler (20.6 ppg) and youngsters in Karl-Anthony Towns (20.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg), the 7-foot NBA leader in double-double games whose his mom hails from the Dominican Republic) and Canadian small forward Andrew Wiggins (17.6 ppg).
The Lakers will be making their 19th consecutive Christmas Day appearance, having seen action during the holiday annually since 1999. They have a 21-21 overall record on Christmas, the second-most assignments (42) and victories in NBA history both behind the Knicks.
The first NBA game played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the after the inception of the NBA (then called the Basketball Association of America), when the New York Knicks whipped the Providence Steamrollers, 89-75, at the old Madison Square Garden.
Since the time, the NBA has played games every year on Christmas Day except in 1998 (when the team owners locked out the players and 32 of the 82 games of the 1998-99 regular season were canceled).
There have been 19 instances wherein a player chalked up 40 points or more during an NBA game on Christmas Day.
Bernard King owns the highest Christmas Day individual scoring record. In 1984, the New York Knicks forward knocked in 60 points (40 in the first half) but the visiting New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets won, 120-114, at the Madison Square Garden.
Wilt Chamberlain got the second-highest output on Christmas with 59 points for the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors in a 1961 holiday contest against New York. Like King, Chamberlain’s offensive wizardry was put to waste as the Knicks won, 136-135, in double overtime.
Rick Barry of the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors torched the Cincinnati Royals (the harbinger of the Sacramento Kings for 50 points in a 1966 Christmas game. This time, it came on a winning note as the Warriors triumphed, 124-112.
Other 40-points-or-more producers on Christmas Day included Jerry West (47, LA Lakers, 1963; Tracy McGrady (46, Orlando Magic, 2002); Dominique Wilkins (45, Atlanta Hawks, 1987); Kevin Durant (44, Oklahoma City Thunder, 2010); Jerry West (44, LA Lakers, 1965); Tracy McGrady (43, Orlando Magic, 2000); Don Ohl (43, Baltimore (now Washington) Bullets, 1966); Kobe Bryant (42, LA Lakers, 2004); Michael Jordan (42, Chicago Bulls, 1992); and Bob Love (42, Chicago Bulls, 1970).
There have been eight triple-double games by a player on Christmas Day, the most recent being OKC’s Westbrook in 2013. “The Big O” Oscar Robertson is the only player with multiple
T-Ds and leads the pack with four of them between 1960 and 1967.
Bryant, whose twin jersey numbers of 8 and 24 with the LA Lakers were retired by the NBA franchise last December 18, still remains the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day with 395 points in a record 16 appearances – ahead of second-place Robertson’s 377) – despite having called it quits after the 2015-16 season and missing several holiday games due to injuries.
Next to Bryant and Robertson on the all-time Christmas scoring ladder are Cleveland teammates James and Wade with 301 points apiece.

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