NBA Lines Up Five Christmas Day Games, Headlined by Spurs-Thunder Clash
nba-christmas-day-2025-schedule
The NBA’s traditional December 25 showcase features five matchups, beginning at noon Eastern and stretching past midnight. The action opened with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Four Western Conference contests round out the slate:
2:30 p.m. ET: San Antonio Spurs (22-7) at Oklahoma City Thunder (26-4)
5:00 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks (12-19) at Golden State Warriors (15-15)
8:00 p.m. ET: Houston Rockets (17-10) at Los Angeles Lakers (19-9)
10:30 p.m. ET: Minnesota Timberwolves (20-10) at Denver Nuggets (21-8)
The league’s marquee slot pairs the defending champion Thunder with the resurgent Spurs, who have already handed Oklahoma City two losses this month. According to the NBA, it is only the second time in four decades that the Western Conference’s top two teams have met on Christmas Day. San Antonio’s presence is especially notable after winning just 34 games last season and navigating star rookie Victor Wembanyama’s recent health scare.
Every other current Western playoff club—Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Denver—will also play. The lone game involving teams outside the West’s top six sends Dallas to Golden State. The Mavericks have gone 7-4 since a 5-15 start, buoyed by a healthy Anthony Davis and the emergence of rookie Cooper Flagg, setting up an intriguing matchup with Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
Phoenix is the only top-eight Western team not featured. In the East, the NBA opted for the familiar Cavaliers-Knicks pairing; both reached the 2024-25 conference semifinals, while Boston and Indiana are without key players recovering from Achilles injuries. The 24-6 Detroit Pistons, one of this season’s surprise stories, were left off the holiday schedule, a development few could have forecast when the calendar was set.
Source: Hoops Rumors
