The best Christmas Day games ever

Detroit won this game over the Brooklyn Americans, 3-2, in overtime, but it was so much more than a good overtime hockey game. This was the Americans’ final season, and when they folded, the Original Six era began. Additionally, this was the only overtime game ever to happen on Christmas. In fact, as this was right after Pearl Harbor and right around the time the United States got involved in World War II, the NHL did away with overtime. It didn’t come back until 1983. That makes this a truly historical hockey game.

This was the first Christmas game for both the Kings and the Penguins. That’s because it was among their first games ever. Pittsburgh and Los Angeles were both expansion teams playing in their first seasons. The talent wasn’t great, necessarily, but it was an exciting 4-3 win for the Pens, many years before Mario Lemieux put them on the map for good.

Here’s a reminder that sports seasons were always drawn out forever. This NFL game, played on Christmas, was actually a playoff game. In fact, it’s more than that. The double-overtime affair is actually the longest game in NFL history at 82 minutes and 40 seconds. In the end, the Dolphins got the 27-24 win thanks to a Garo Yepremian field goal.

Why does a hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the California Golden Seals make this list? Is it because it’s fun to remember the Golden Seals used to be an NHL team? It’s partially that. However, it’s also because this 3-1 win for the Seals was the last NHL game played on Christmas. That’s right, since 1971 zero NHL games have taken place on Christmas Day.

The 1982 Aloha Bowl was the inaugural one, and the first bowl in Hawaii since 1952. Since then, of course, it’s become a tradition. This was definitely one of the more impressive matchups in any Hawaiian bowl game. The ninth-ranked Washington Huskies, led by Don James, took on the 16th-ranked Maryland Terrapins, led by Bobby Ross. The Huskies got the win, 21-20.

The Kings lost to the Nets, 120-114, on Christmas. That sounds like a solid enough game on paper, but this was actually perhaps the iconic Christmas game, at least for many years. We can thank Bernard King for that. King, playing for the Knicks, scored a whopping 60 points to try and get his team the win. He fell short, but he cemented himself as a Christmas legend.

The final score of this game may have been 113-104 in favor of the Knicks, but this was a double overtime game, so obviously it was tightly contested until the very end. New York was led by a promising rookie named Patrick Ewing, who scored 32 points in just the 29th game of his career against a Larry Bird-led Boston squad.

There was no Michael Jordan — he had just retired — and the 95-93 Bulls win may not seem exciting to modern NBA eyes. However, this game had a young Shaq, a young Penny and a running game-winning shot by Toni Kukoc. Not quite as good of a Christmas gift as MJ’s return, but that would happen in time.

This was a pretty good game, as it ended 27-20 in favor of the Dolphins thanks to a late rally from the Lions. Anytime Barry Sanders is on the field, it can’t be all bad. However, this game makes the list because it gave Don Shula his 319th NFL win as a coach, which was a new NFL record.

Kobe and Shaq were firing on all cylinders at the turn of the millennium. In fact, in this game Bryant had 29 points, while O’Neal had 32 of his own. And yet the Trail Blazers were able to earn the Christmas Day victory anyway. Rasheed Wallace had 33 points of his own for Portland, and the Blazers won, 109-104.

How weird does it feel to remember there was a time when the Pistons and Magic were considered worthy of a Christmas matchup? It was the case, though! Tracy McGrady was questionable to play in this game but managed to not just take the court but also score a whopping 46 points. That helped Orlando secure a 104-99 win.

Remember when the Kings were one of the toughest teams in the NBA? It’s true, believe it or not! That was certainly the case in 2003, when they carried a 20-6 record into Christmas. Despite Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber being hurt, the Kings looked prime to beat a young Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs. Then Don Nelson let his team loose, and Dallas came back to win, 111-103, behind Dirk’s 31 points.

This is the last bowl game that was played on Christmas proper, and it was a fine place to end things. The Hawaii Warriors and Houston Cougars played a triple-overtime game that ended 54-48, as Kevin Kolb and Timmy Chang threw the ball all over the field. Oh, and then the game ended with a fight. In Hawaii. On Christmas. Football is an intense sport.

The two AFC West rivals had quite the back-and-forth battle this Christmas. Thanks to a Dante Hall kick return, the Chiefs were in position to kick a game-winning field goal late. Despite having missed two field goals earlier in the game, Kansas City kicker Lawrence Tynes converted a 38-yarder with 22 seconds left to give his team a 31-30 win.

All eyes were on the Pistons and Pacers for this game. Because they were two of the NBA’s best teams? No, even if that was the case. This was the first contest between these two teams after the Malice in the Palace. Needless to say, tensions were high. There was no more violence, Ron Artest was still suspended after all, and the Pistons eked out a 98-93 win.

Man, what a game this was. Shaquille O’Neal was playing his first game back in L.A. after getting himself traded to the Heat, and he proceeded to foul out. That could have hurt Miami in overtime, but a young Dwyane Wade helped lead the Heat to a 104-102 win despite 42 points from Kobe Bryant.

The Suns were at their “Seven Seconds or Less” peak in 2007 when they took on the Lakers on Christmas. However, even Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire in their primes couldn’t compete with a classic Kobe appearance. Bryant scored 38 points to lead his team to a 122-115 win.

The score of this game won’t make you miss the NBA just before the turn of the decade. The Lakers won 92-83, a score that would turn heads now. However, this was more than a game between two blood rivals. It was the first matchup between Boston and L.A. since the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Plus, Kobe and Co. were able to end Boston’s 19-game win streak.

These were not good teams, as Dallas and Arizona both came into their season finale with 5-10 records. However, this was a crazy game. The Cardinals got two interception returns for touchdowns. Stephen McGee, in at quarterback for the Cowboys, threw a touchdown to Miles Austin with a mere 1:41 left to give Dallas a 26-24 lead. However, the Cowboys missed their extra point, which allowed Jay Feely to give the Cardinals a 27-26 win with a 48-yard field goal with only five seconds left in the game.

This was the year that Christmas also served as the opening day of the NBA season, thanks to the lockout. It wasn’t the most beautiful of games, but it featured two star-led teams in Kobe’s Lakers and Derrick Rose’s Bulls. Rose and Chicago would eke out the win, 88-87, despite 28 points from Bryant.

At the end of the 2010-11 season, the Mavericks upended the newly formed super team in Miami to keep LeBron from getting his first ring. As such, there was a lot of pressure on the Heat in this finals rematch the next season. Dallas did its best to prolong Miami’s misery, outscoring the Heat 28-9 in the fourth quarter. But LeBron’s 37 points and 10 rebounds helped Miami get the 105-99 win.

Some consider this the best Christmas game of all time, or at least in the last decade or so. The score certainly indicates that, as the Warriors, just coming into their own (Mark Jackson was still their coach) held off the Clippers, 105-103. Blake Griffin got ejected, Chris Paul missed a game-winner late, and it was all in all an insane, intense, great game of basketball. To quote Jackson, “Merry Christmas.”

Remember how insane LeBron’s first game back in Cleveland was after leaving the Cavs for the Heat? This game, James’ return to Miami after going home to Cleveland, wasn’t quite as intense, but it was still memorable. Unfortunately for LeBron, he wasn’t able to secure the road win, as the Heat held on for a 101-91 win thanks to Dwyane Wade and Co.

These two rivals were fighting for the AFC North title on Christmas this year. It was a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire, when an Antonio Brown touchdown with four seconds left gave the Steelers a 31-27 win, and more importantly, the division title.

The NBA loves finals rematches on Christmas. That was the case when Cleveland and Golden State battled on Christmas three years ago, the year after the Cavs upset the Warriors in the NBA Finals. History repeated itself in this game, as the Cavaliers overcame a 94-80 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 109-108 thanks to Kyrie Irving. Of course in the end, the Warriors got the last laugh, winning the title that summer.