Report: Suns to face Nuggets on Christmas Day for 2nd time in last 3 years

The Phoenix Suns are set to host the Denver Nuggets to close out a primetime slate on Christmas Day, according to a report.

The Athletic‘s Shams Charania first reported the holiday slate on Thursday ahead of the NBA’s full schedule release.

The last time the two Western Conference foes met on Christmas was 2022, when the Nuggets beat the Suns in overtime in Denver. In that game, Landry Shamet’s 31 points off the bench were outdone by a 41-point, 15-rebound, 15-assist triple-double from Nikola Jokic.

It’s the fourth straight year the Suns will be featured on the NBA’s primetime showcase on the holiday and the third time Phoenix is hosting. The Suns are 0-3 during the stretch.

Over the franchise’s history, the Suns are 12-9 on Christmas. The only win since 1993 came in 2009 and in blowout fashion, with Phoenix demolishing the Los Angeles Clippers by more than 30.

Facing Denver a second time on Christmas puts the Nuggets in a territory with only three other teams. The Suns have played the Los Angeles Lakers six times on Christmas, the San Antonio Spurs three times and the Boston Celtics twice.

Here’s the rest of the Christmas Day slate, according to Charania:

• Spurs at New York Knicks
• Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
• Philadelphia 76ers at Celtics
• Lakers at Golden State Warriors