10 NBA Christmas Day Massacres
The NBA has one of the biggest Christmas traditions of any sports league.
Christmas games started in 1947, and have continued up until this point, despite protests from Stan Van Gundy.
These holiday contests are normally evenly matched games between top-tier teams. But then again, Christmas contests also occur during the early part of the season, when teams aren’t always at their best.
And this has led to some Christmas Day massacres, including the 10 below.
1. Christmas 1960: Syracuse Nationals Beat NY Knicks 162-100
Despite being far from a superpower (38-41 in 1960), the Syracuse Nationals set all-time records for most points in a Christmas game and the largest margin of victory.
Dave Gambee and Hal Greer led the way with 24 points a piece, while nine Nationals scored in double figures.
2. Christmas 1973: Phoenix Suns Beat Los Angeles Lakers 135-100
Led by head coach Bill Sharman and guard Jerry West, this Lakers team would reach the NBA Finals. The only problem on this Christmas day matchup…Sharman missed the game due to illness while West was injured.
Phoenix scored at least 30 points in every quarter, and Jim Owens led everybody with 27.
3. Christmas 2013: Oklahoma City Thunder Beat NY Knicks 123-94
Entering this contest against the Knicks, Oklahoma City had lost 10 straight Christmas Day games. But they weren’t to be denied as Russell Westbrook turned in a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Westbrook became just the fifth payer in Christmas history to record a triple-double, while Serge Ibaka chipped in 24 points during the route.
4. Christmas 2009: Phoenix Suns Beat Los Angeles Clippers 124-93
Seven Phoenix players scored in double figures, led by Amar’e Stoudemire’s 26 points. The Suns’ bench really killed L.A., with Jared Dudley (18), Goran Dragic (13), and Leandro Barbosa (12) all coming up big.
What hurt the Clippers even worse is that they shot just 40.2%, while Phoenix hit a sizzling 53.7% of their shots.
5. Christmas 1979: New York Knicks Beat New Jersey Nets 131-102
Neither the Knicks (39-43) nor the Nets (36-38) were very good in 1979.
But New York, which featured two 20-point scorers in Bill Cartwright (21.7) and Ray Williams (20.9), were slightly better on the season, and much better in this game.
6. Christmas 1961: Chicago Packers Beat Detroit Pistons 118-97
This is another case of two bad teams in the Chicago Packers and Detroit Pistons meeting on Christmas.
But Walt Bellamy, who also had a big performance in game #10 on this list, proved to be a Christmas star with 30 points. Five other Packers scored in double figures to take this win.
7. Christmas 1981: Washington Bullets Beat Indiana Pacers 115-98
The young Washington Bullets were on their way to a surprise 43-39 season when they got a blowout victory in this game.
One reason for the Bullets’ success in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year was their balanced scoring, with seven different players averaging double figures.
8. Christmas 2002: New Jersey Nets Beat Boston Celtics 117-81
Coming off a trip to the NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets started the 2002-03 season off strong and got a blowout Christmas win against Boston.
Richard Jefferson led the way with 22 points, while Jason Kidd added 16 points and dished out 11 assists. Paul Pierce scored 27 points for the Celtics, which was nearly 40% of their offense in this sad performance.
9. Christmas 2012: Houston Rockets Beat Chicago Bulls 120-97
The Rockets starters were on fire in this one, with James Harden (26), Chandler Parsons (23), Jeremy Lin (20), and Omar Asik (20) all scoring big.
Nate Robinson scored 27 points off the bench for Chicago, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Bulls from losing their first-ever Christmas home game…and losing it big!
10. Christmas 1971: Atlanta Hawks Beat Buffalo Braves 140-117
The Atlanta Hawks ran the Braves out of the building with “Pistol” Pete Maravich running the show, and 4-time All-Star Walt Bellamy pouring in 40 points.
What stands out about this game is not only the 23-point margin, but also that the Hawks’ 140 points is the fourth-highest total in Christmas Day history.
