The Spurs earned a third victory over the defending champs in 13 days, while the Knicks staged a big rally and Houston routed the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers' run of blowout losses hit three on Christmas Day after they fell at home to the Houston Rockets, 119-96.

A hundred and some points behind James is the late Kobe Bryant, who scored 395 points on Dec. 25 games by the end of his NBA career. Bryant is also firmly in the games played leaderboards with 16 holiday classics. His highlight was a 2004 42-point game against the Heat that culminated in a 104-102 overtime loss.

The Houston Rockets face the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA Christmas Day Game on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025 (12/25/25) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif.

If the recent meetings between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder proved anything, it's that the latest NBA rivalry officially has been born.

A year ago was a haunting game for the Mavericks, as Luka Doncic went down late against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a calf strain, and that would turn out to be his last game in a Mavericks uniform, as Nico Harrison traded him over a month later to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shaq and Kenny continued their pranks and jokes during Inside The NBA’s broadcast during the Christmas slate of game.