NBA Christmas Day games to be broadcast live in India on MTV and VH1

Published at :December 24, 2021 at 11:59 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : Inside Hook)

The matches will also be streamed on the VOOT App and JioTV.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) have a can’t-miss slate of games prepared for the annual Christmas Day extravaganza. 10 of the best teams will go head-to-head over the course of 5 games, all of which will be broadcast live in English on VHI and in Hindi on MTV, while also being streamed live on VOOT and Jio TV. This year’s Christmas slate promises nearly 13 hours of back-to-back basketball action from the top teams across the league.

The slate of games tip-off at 10:30 PM (December 25) with an Eastern Conference rivalry matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks. The Hawks and Knicks met in the first-round of the 2021 Playoffs, which saw the Hawks triumph enroute to an Eastern Conference finals berth. The spirited series, which electrified both fan bases, could signal a new chapter in a rivalry between two franchises that have played against each other since 1949. Christmas night sees them add more chapters to this budding rivalry.

The next game will feature reigning NBA Champions, Milwaukee Bucks take on the Boston Celtics at 01:00 AM (December 26). This is a reprisal of a historic rivalry, with Boston and Milwaukee’s classic matchup in the 1974 NBA Finals, which the Celtics won in seven games. The teams also played four playoff series against each other in the 1980s, including two Eastern Conference Finals. Back-to-back playoff meetings in 2018 and 2019 and several dramatic regular-season games in recent seasons have given the rivalry a modern spin.

A top-of-the-table Western Conference clash will be up next between the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns at 03:30 AM. The Suns went undefeated in November and set the franchise’s longest winning streak, that included a win over the Warriors before Golden State ended the streak at 18 wins. The Suns are the reigning Western Conference champions, a position the Warriors held for five straight years from 2015-19. With Chris Paul and Devin Booker on one side and Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the other, Suns vs. Warriors is must-see theater right now.

A super-heavyweight clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets is the penultimate game of this stacked bill. This game will feature 6 players that feature on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook from the Lakers, with James Harden and Kevin Durant from the Nets. LeBron James is poised to become the career scoring leader on Christmas Day, needing 13 points to pass Kobe Bryant for the top spot.

The final game will see the Dallas Mavericks take on the Utah Jazz (6:30 AM) in a featured matchup of two of the brightest young guards in the league. Luka Dončić and Donovan Mitchell are front and center in this golden age of young talent in the NBA. Both are two-time NBA All-Stars with dynamic games and fearless personalities. Mitchell already has two 50-point games in the Playoffs, while Dončić averages more than 33 points per game in the Playoffs and made an iconic game-winner over the LA Clippers in the Orlando Bubble. All eyes will be on them in a showcase game on Christmas Day – which is just how they like it.

A lot of Christmas Day records are on the line this year, with LeBron James headed to break the all-time scoring and wins record if the Lakers can triumph over the Nets with James scoring 13 points or more. It is truly the season to be jolly, and the cheer will be spread across the hardwood in these high-stakes games featuring some of the best players in the world.

Full Christmas schedule (all games to be aired in English on VH1 and in Hindi on MTV. Games are also available on JioTV and VOOT):

Date	Time (IST)	Home	Away
25.12.21	10:30 PM	New York Knicks	Atlanta Hawks
26.12.21	1:00 AM	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
26.12.21	3:30 AM	Phoenix Suns	Golden State Warriors
26.12.21	6:30 AM	Los Angeles Lakers	Brooklyn Nets
26.12.21	9:00 AM	Utah Jazz	Dallas Mavericks

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