Top NBA Christmas Day Moments

We've had a rich history of Christmas Day matchups that date back to 1947 when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers, but even a clash of the titans such as that one may not compare for what December 25th has to offer this year.

Not only is it Christmas, it's the season opener. After a two month lay off, the NBA is back in action with opening day scheduled for this upcoming Sunday. Games include the Boston Celtics against the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder facing off with the Orlando Magic, an NBA Finals rematch between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors taking on the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers verses the Chicago Bulls.

All five games are sure to be entertaining, but how do they stack up against some previous moments in Christmas history?

Since 1947, the NBA has had games scheduled on Christmas. In other sports where players are given the day off, the NBA is one of the few leagues that will have spotlight games played on that day. Even though some don't like the idea of playing on Christmas, it still makes for entertaining television on a holiday that brings the whole family together.

Get your stockings stuffed with 10 of the most memorable moments in the NBA on Christmas.

10. The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers Go at It

A Christmas day rivalry renewed as the new look Miami Heat took on the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in a matchup at the Staples Center.

There was star power everywhere in a game that featured arguably five of the NBA's top 20 players on the same floor. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant were among the notables as the Lakers looked to put an end to an unbelievable run by the Heat where they had only lost one game in all of December until that point.

One of the most highly anticipated games of the season, the Heat were dominant throughout and had a nine point advantage going into the half. They controlled the second half and would take an 11 point lead into the fourth before a dominant fourth quarter enabled them to a 96-80 victory.

LeBron James was the biggest story with his five three-pointers and his triple-double that consisted of 27 points, 11 boards and 10 assists per, but not too many people gave attention to the defensive battle going on between Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant.

Wade only scored 18 points on subpar shooting, but it was far better than the 17 points he allowed to Bryant, who struggled with his shot all game.

Chris Bosh chipped in 24 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, while Pau Gasol finished with 17 points.

9. Tracy McGrady Drops 43 Points on Indiana

The game might have ended up in a 103-93 victory in favor of the Indiana Pacers, but all anyone remembers from their matchup with the Orlando Magic was how dominant Tracy McGrady was throughout.

The fact that the Magic even scored 93 points is a miracle. Nine players on the team had a combined 50 points, while McGrady was the only source of support with 43 points on 13-of-31 shooting. He also shot 15-of-19 from the foul line, 2-of-4 from three, grabbed nine caroms and had two blocked shots.

McGrady was everywhere on the floor, but the lack of support was too much. Darrel Armstrong's 13 and Mike Miller's 11 represented the only other players to score in double figures for the Magic.

Jalen Rose attempted to steal the show out from under T-Mac with 31 points of his own on 14-of-25 shooting. He was supported by Reggie Miller's 22 points and Jonathan Bender's 20.

8. The Lakers Get the Best of the Celtics

In their first meeting since the Boston Celtics decimated them in the Game 6 clincher in the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers knew that they had to make a statement.

With the Celtics riding a 19 game winning streak and standing at 27-2, the Lakers knew that this was the perfect time to make their impression felt.

Hotly contested throughout the contest, the Lakers would use a strong defensive fourth quarter to enable a 92-83 victory over the same Celtics team that had beaten them only a few months prior in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics' Big Three went to work with Kevin Garnett scoring 22, Paul Pierce scoring 20 and Ray Allen netting 14, but it wouldn't be enough as they couldn't match the output by the Lakers' dynamic duo and their bench.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 27 points to go along with nine boards and five dimes, while Pau Gasol chipped in 20 of his own. The Lakers also happened to get 10 points apiece from Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic in the nine point victory that occurred thanks to a 22-13 advantage in the bench department.

7. Dennis Rodman Leads the Bulls Past the Pistons

A matchup featuring the league's best player in Michael Jordan and the player attempting to usurp the throne in Grant Hill had too many implications to it.

However, it wouldn't be Jordan or Hill leading the way, but none other than Chicago Bulls' power forward Dennis Rodman. In a game where the Bulls won 95-83, Rodman would finish the day with 11 points, 22 rebounds (nine offensive) and seven assists to come up just a few dimes shy of a triple-double.

Hill would finish with 27 points on 12-of-24 shooting for Detroit, while Jordan would have 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting to go along with 10 boards. Scottie Pippen ended up as the savior for the Bulls thanks to his five three-pointers and the 27 points, eight boards and eight assists.

Toni Kukoc chipped in two three-pointers for 11 points for the Bulls, while Otis Thorpe and Lindsey Hunter each had 17 points for the Pistons.

6. Scottie Pippen Lights Up the Knicks

Playing without Michael Jordan for the second consecutive season, it was up to Scottie Pippen to beat up on the New York Knicks this time around.

In a tightly contested game that needed overtime to seal the deal, Scottie Pippen would overcome 11-of-28 shooting to finish the game with 36 points and 16 rebounds to give the Bulls a highly entertaining 107-104 victory.

The Knicks got off to a hot start with a 31-point first quarter, but quickly cooled down in the second by giving up 33 points. They'd use a 27-23 fourth quarter advantage to stage a comeback, but it wouldn't be enough as Pippen and Toni Kukoc's 25 points would be too much for the Knicks to handle in overtime.

New York had four of five starters in double figures with Patrick Ewing's 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting leading the way. He was supported by Charles Oakley's 20 and 12 points apiece from Derek Harper and Charles Smith.

Chicago got 15 points from B.J. Armstrong.

5. Patrick Ewing Hits the Game Winner

The third consecutive year of the New York Knicks establishing their presence on Christmas day games, Patrick Ewing once again comes through in the clutch to help his team pull out a victory.

Going against the Chicago Bulls, the Knicks were forced to deal with the 30 points and six boards of Michael Jordan.

This was one of the first meetings between a young Ewing and Jordan and it would end up being Ewing with the final say. With the Knicks down by one and a teammate missing a shot from the perimeter, Ewing had the carom fall to him, where he would then immediately throw up the short-range shot and make it to give the Knicks an 86-85 victory.

The Knicks didn't have too much success against the Bulls, but this just happened to be one of those rare moments where the New York crowd walks away from the Madison Square Garden happy after a game against Chicago.

4. Patrick Ewing Leads the New York Knicks Back

Facing a 25-point deficit against the dominant Boston Celtics, rookie Patrick Ewing wasn't going to let his team go down without a fight.

This was the second of three consecutive years where the New York Knicks were the talk of Christmas Day. However, unlike the previous year where Bernard King went off only for his team to lose, the Knicks in 1985 would pull out an improbable victory over Larry Bird and the Celtics.

Ewing was too intense and ferocious of a player to go down that easy on national level. Even as a rookie, he showcased just how dominant of a player he could be, even against some of the NBA's greatest frontcourt players in Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

The Knicks would outscore the Celtics 54-40 in the second half and would then need two overtimes in order to win by a score of 113-104.

Ewing finished the game with 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting to go along with 11 boards. He was supported by 22 points from Rory Sparrow and 14 points off the bench from Gerald Wilkins.

McHale led the way for the Celtics with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Robert Parish contributed 24 points and 18 boards and Larry Bird dropped 23 points and 10 caroms. The Celtics had 28 points from eight other players.

3. Michael Jordan Goes for 42 Against New York

Bitter rivals facing off again, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks' Christmas Day matchup in 1992 was just another memorable performance for the ages by Michael Jordan.

The Knicks pulled out to a 10 point advantage at the end of the first quarter over the reigning NBA champions and would go on to take that same lead into the half.

However, the second half would belong solely to Jordan and the Bulls as they'd use a 25-13 third quarter advantage to take the lead going into the fourth, and then a 25-15 advantage to close out the game to give the Bulls an 89-77 victory. The biggest story of the game is the comparison of the Knicks from the first to the second half.

The Knicks racked up 49 points in the first half and then laid an egg in the second half by only posting up 28 points.

Michael Jordan's 42 points on 15-of-34 shooting was too much for a Knicks team that only shot 38 percent. Patrick Ewing struggled with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, while John Starks and Rolando Blackman led the way with 17.

Scottie Pippen had 16 for the Bulls, who had no other player in double figures.

2. Bernard King Goes for 60

One of the games most dominant players when it came to driving, former New York Knicks forward Bernard King sometimes made it appear that he was one of the NBA's greatest scorers.

No year gave better evidence to that than the 1984-'85 season when he won his only scoring title after averaging 33 points per on 53 percent shooting. He wasn't a three-point shooter in the slightest, but he knew how to get to the rim, knew how to finish and knew how to get to the foul line.

The most memorable moment of that dream season would come on Christmas Day when King dropped a career high 60 points on 19-of-30 shooting on the New Jersey Nets. He had 40 points by the end of the first half and had 26 free throws in the game.

Somehow, King's Knicks lost 120-114.

1. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Face off

After a highly publicized feud between former Los Angeles Laker teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the NBA announced that they had scheduled Bryant's Lakers to play O'Neal's new team in the Miami Heat on Christmas.

The first time that they ever met up as opponents, there was no exchange at tipoff and they didn't even acknowledge each other.

It was a hotly contested matchup that would need overtime to settle the dispute, but it would be Dwyane Wade stealing the show and leading the Heat to a 10-8 advantage in the overtime period to give Miami the 104-102 victory at the Staples Center.

The Heat won the war and Kobe Bryant won the battle between himself and O'Neal. Despite Shaq fouling out in the fourth quarter and finishing with 24 points and 11 boards, Bryant had the better individual game with 42 points, six boards and three assists.

Wade led the way for the Heat with 29 points, 10 assists and three boards.