The NBA likes to prioritize marquee matchups between premier franchises on Christmas, and the first game of the day is no exception. The NBA Cup-winning New York Knicks will host a Cleveland Cavaliers team that earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season.

The NBA began playing basketball games on Christmas Day in 1947, ESPN reported. The league has played games every Christmas except during a lockout in 1998. The New York Knicks played the Providence Steamrollers in the inaugural game.

The Hornets are looking to bounce back after falling 112-86 to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel each scored 19 points in the loss. Knueppel, who was drafted fourth overall by the Hornets in 2025, is currently second on the team in scoring and leads all rookies with 19.4 points per game.

Game to watch: Tuesday vs. Bulls – After a Sunday thriller that saw the Bulls edge the Hawks 152-150 in the highest-scoring game of the NBA season, these two teams run it back to open Week 10 as the Hawks look to snap a three-game skid.

Hawaii’s opponent will be California, whom the Warriors last faced in 2016 in Sydney, Australia. Among the numerous subplots to this contest, Hawaii will look to open and close its season with a sweep of the Bay Area branch of the ACC.

The Rainbow Warriors will welcome the Golden Bears to paradise for this Christmas Eve bowl game. The good news for the California Golden Bears is that they get to play a bowl game in perhaps the most gorgeous place on the planet;