While the NFL has invaded Christmas Day, the NBA still owns the holiday. Christmas Day is a coming-out party for the NBA, featuring five terrific matchups and, generally, the league’s most popular franchises and top players. This year is no different, with LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, and Victor Wembanyama leading their teams.
Bold Predictions And Fantasy Plays For Early NBA Christmas Day Games
Christmas 2025 marks the 78th time the NBA plays on the holiday. Four of the 10 teams playing today have been crowned champions in the past six years. Also, six of the teams are among the squads with the best records thus far.
Continuing a Christmas Day tradition, the New York Knicks will once again play at home, this time hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers to kick off the day at 12 p.m. on ABC. Game 2 features the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the San Antonio Spurs, part three. The Spurs and Thunder are playing for the third time in the past two weeks, with their last meeting on Tuesday night.
The Dallas Mavericks vs. the Golden State Warriors is the middle game of the day. The Houston Rockets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers is the prime-time game, with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets closing out the night in Denver.
Knicks To Win Third Straight Christmas Day Contest
New York, playing on Christmas for the 58th time, is 12-3 in its last 15 games and one of the best home squads in the league with a +12.1 scoring margin. While the Knicks are just 25-32 in their previous 57 December 25 games, they have won two straight on the day and three of four.
The Knicks, tied with Houston for the second-best offense in the league, have been clicking on all cylinders offensively in December. Since the beginning of the month, the Knicks are averaging 119 points while shooting 49.6% from the field and 39.8% from the 3-point line (14 threes a game). Additionally, the Knicks will get leading scorer Jalen Brunson, who scored 47 points against Miami on Sunday, back after he sat out Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota with an ankle injury. The Knicks have one of the league’s top first units and are 5-1 with Mike Brown’s new starting lineup intact (Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns). Those five are +7.7 points per 100 possessions when playing together.
Meanwhile, Cleveland could have Evan Mobley back as he has been upgraded to questionable. Mobley has been out since December 12. The Cavaliers are 2-3 in the recent five games Mobley missed, with a minus-1 scoring margin. They are 14-11 with their big man. Even if Mobley can play, Max Strus and Larry Nance Jr. remain sidelined.
Cleveland is 7-7 on Christmas Day, though just 1-6 on the road.
I have the Knicks as a 4.5-point favorite, which is in line with the Sportsbooks (Knicks -5.5). In contrast, I can definitely see the Knicks covering, as the Cavs own the worst ATS record in the NBA this season, the best bet is to take New York on the money line. The Cavs are 3-7 against the East’s Top-8 this year.
Score: Knicks 120-116, which is three+ points below the Sportsbooks total.
Best bet: New York (-210), Under 239.5 points
Parlay: Knicks and the under is a +210.
Thunder To Get First Win Over Spurs This Season
San Antonio has handed Oklahoma City two of its four losses. The Spurs defeated the Thunder 111-109 in Vegas on December 13. The Spurs are also coming off a 130-110 beatdown of the Thunder in San Antonio on Tuesday, though OKC was playing the second contest of a back-to-back.
San Antonio has been one of the best teams in the league this month, posting a 9-1 record with a +9.8 scoring margin and on a four-game winning streak. The Spurs have won nine of 10, outscoring their opponents by nearly 10 points a game. The Spurs are healthy and are an excellent road team.
Oklahoma City is just 2-3 after their historic start to the season. However, the Thunder are the league’s best home team at 14-0 with an incredible +15-point scoring margin. They are 8-3 since Jalen Williams made his season debut with a +12.3 scoring margin. However, their depth takes a slight hit with Ajay Mitchell (concussion), Ousmane Dieng, and Jaylin Williams sidelined due to injuries.
I like OKC to win this game and have the Thunder as four-point favorites. I also have the Thunder winning the game 119-16. The Over/under is set at 134.5 points. While I would generally suggest a no-bet here, the teams just played, and the first contest saw 120 total points. So, go with the under. The total has gone under in six of the last ten meetings.
Best Best: Parlay: OKC (-335) and under 234.5 points. The Spurs are 5-6 against the top-8 teams in the West.
Another one: Lean Spurs (+9.5). The Spurs have been playing well and are solid on the road and against the top teams in the West with a +0.6 point differential.
Donovan Mitchell To Score 30 Points
Donovan Mitchell has been inconsistent over the last five games. At the same time, Mitchell has topped the 30-point mark three times during this stretch and has 16 such games in 28 appearances this year. He averages 30 points on the road this season and tallied 31 against the Knicks in the team’s first meeting. Additionally, the Knicks’ defense has been vulnerable to shooting guards over the last 10 contests, allowing 30 points a game.
Bet: Over 29.5 points (-115)
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