LeBron James and Stephen Curry share the national spotlight on Christmas Day for perhaps the final time when the visiting Los Angeles Lakers square off with the Golden State Warriors in the holiday primetime showcase Wednesday night at San Francisco.
Two teams currently sitting in play-in positions in the Western Conference playoff race will seek to bounce back from narrow home defeats when James and Curry meet on Christmas for the fourth time.
The first three meetings were at the height of their powers, with Curry’s Warriors and James’ Cleveland Cavaliers dueling in 2015 and 2016 as reigning NBA finalists. James had joined the Lakers for the third matchup in 2018, when the Warriors again were defending champs.
Curry and James are paired again this year despite neither team advancing past the first round of the playoffs last season. And neither is considered a serious title contender this season.
With a 40th birthday approaching Monday, James has continued to play at a high level. He had 32 points in a win at Sacramento on Saturday, then put up a triple-double Monday in a 117-114 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
James joins reigning MVP Nikola Jokic as the only players in the league currently averaging at least 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists.
James ended Monday’s game with blood on his left wrist and promising he’s not backing down from any challenges, even while nearing 40.
“You just got to match physicality with physicality,” said James, a former wide receiver in high school. “I can’t speak for nobody but myself when it comes to that. I’m a football player so I don’t mind physicality to be honest.”
Curry, who will turn 37 before season’s end, had two of the worst performances of his career in his last three outings, shooting a combined 2-for-20 overall and 2-for-15 on 3-pointers while totaling 12 points in losses to Memphis and Indiana.
The struggles have coincided with the addition of veteran point guard Dennis Schroder, acquired in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.
Schroder came to Golden State averaging 18.4 points and 6.6 assists, shooting 45 percent overall and 39 percent on 3-pointers. Inserted immediately into the starting lineup, he has contributed just 7.7 points and 3.7 assists a game for Golden State, shooting 8-for-29 overall (27.6 percent) and 1-for-11 on 3-pointers (9.1 percent).
Curry believes it’s just a matter of time before the new backcourt combination clicks.
“It could be a lot better, and it will be,” Curry said. “We’re being defended a certain way, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. You just got to understand when to pick and choose your spots based on the attention you get. Get the ball moving, try to find a rhythm a little earlier.
“That might be a little bit of an adjustment, but something I’ve been through and always try to find a way to bounce back.”
The Warriors will be playing on Christmas Day for the 12th straight season. They’ve faced the Lakers twice previously on the holiday – 1954 in a Philadelphia vs. Minneapolis matchup, and 2018 in a game in which James outscored Curry 17-15 in a 127-101 win in Oakland.