The NBA continues to have its place on Christmas Day with its yearly slate of games.

The schedule will feature five games throughout the day and will feature the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors among others.

It also will feature the next generation of stars such as Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards.

The New York Knicks have played in 56 Christmas Day games, the most of any team in the league, but they share the record for most wins on the holiday with the Lakers at 24.

LeBron James will have the opportunity to surpass former teammate Dwyane Wade for most wins on Christmas Day. Wade and James are tied at 10 victories.

James already holds the records for most games (18) and points scored (476) on Christmas Day.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is playing on Christmas Day?

San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns

How to watch Spurs play Knicks?

How to watch Timberwolves play Mavericks?

How to watch 76ers play Celtics?

How to watch the Lakers play Warriors?

How to watch the Nuggets play Suns?

The Nuggets will play the Suns in Phoenix at 10:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN and Fubo.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If the Miami Dolphins hope to reach the playoffs for the third straight season, they might need star receiver Tyreek Hill to practice a little more in the final two weeks.

Hill, the Dolphins’ star receiver, said his veteran rest days during the practice week were the reason why he was unable to come up with three passes from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that hit his hands.

Luckily for the Dolphins, Hill was able to make at least one big catch to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

Tagovailoa threw the 100th passing touchdown of his career to Hill, and the Dolphins kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

De’Von Achane scored on a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left, while 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted by Dolphins defensive back Kader Kohou on the previous drive to also seal the victory.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

But Hill took the blame because this game shouldn’t have been close – especially with the 49ers learning before the game they were eliminated from postseason contention.

“I need those valuable reps with Tua. Those vet rest days are starting to show,” Hill said after the win, in which he had just 29 yards on three catches on seven targets. “I completely blame myself for not getting my head around and not seeing the ball.”

Added Tagovailoa: “If [Hill] told you that, then that’s what we need more of. We need reps. Me and him need more reps. That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s the secret sauce to me being able to connect with all these guys.”

Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders also made five field goals to help Miami improve to 7-8, just like the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals also did Sunday. All three teams needed wins to keep their seasons alive.

They’ll live to fight another week – a position Miami might not have envisioned when it started this season 2-6 after Tagovailoa missed four games on injured reserve due to a Week 2 concussion.

“It doesn’t change the dynamic for us. We control what we can control,” Dolphins veteran left tackle Terron Armstead said. “We dug ourselves in this hole, and the only thing we can control is beating the Browns. … We got to win.”

Sadly for the 49ers, they were eliminated from postseason contention before kickoff Sunday after the Washington Commanders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 36-33.

The 49ers nearly made it a game when Purdy threw his second touchdown pass to tight Eric Saubert with 12:02 left in the game. But they unraveled down the stretch with a four-and-out, multiple penalties, and Purdy’s interception.

Purdy finished with 313 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass was to Deebo Samuel, the star 49ers’ receiver/rusher, scoring just his third touchdown all season.

Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers’ coach, said he did not know his team was officially eliminated, but knew his team was trending in that direction after last week’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

“That did nothing with the game,” Shanahan said. “We kind of had that vibe last week. I know it wasn’t official, but we understand numbers. So, we kind of knew that last week.”

San Francisco’s offseason will begin early this season after losing to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl last season and playing in three straight NFC title games.

The 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were officially ousted Sunday as the playoff field narrows with two weeks left in the NFL season.

Tagovailoa was 22-of-34 for 215 yards with the touchdown pass, while Achane led the Dolphins with 121 yards rushing, 70 yards receiving and iced the game with his 11th total touchdown of the season.

“I was proud of this effort and the guys’ effort in general. That gives you a chance to win December football,” third-year Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.

Hill has six touchdowns, dealing with knee, foot and wrist injuries in his ninth NFL season. He also caught Patrick Mahomes’ 100th touchdown pass with the Kansas City Chiefs in a 33-31 win over the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 8, 2020.

The Dolphins must win on the road at Cleveland and the New York Jets in the final two weeks to reach the playoffs for the third straight season. The franchise owns the NFL’s longest playoff win drought at 24 years.

“We’re just focused on one game at a time right now,” Tagovailoa said. “We got the Niners out of the way, and we’ll focus on the Browns and Christmas.”

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.

Josh Allen played through most of the season with a broken left hand. He had an injury scare to his right hand in against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Allen scrambled for 7 yards in the third quarter and was rolled over by linebacker Yannick Ngakoue. It appeared Allen’s right elbow smacked into Ngakoue’s helmet. Allen got to his feet holding his throwing hand and trying to shake it loose. He badly misfired two plays later on third down.

Allen said in his postgame press conference that he smacked his funny bone.

‘Hit the funny bone nerve and went to throw and just had no feeling in the hand,’ Allen said.

Allen spoke to a trainer on the sideline while flexing his hand and throwing on the sideline. He took a seat on the bench with a glove on his right hand. Allen did not miss a play.

All things Bills: Latest Buffalo Bills news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Allen hit his elbow which led to a lack of sensation in his hand and it was not expected to be serious or limiting, CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn reported later in the fourth quarter.

‘I don’t know if it was the elbow or helmet or ground. Lost some feeling with the funny bone, had no feeling in the hand,’ Allen said in his postgame press conference. ‘It took a good 5-10 minute of making sure, trying to get some blood flow back in there and some activation. When it’s cold like that too, the more you leave it out the number the whole hand gets. It was a weird feeling. Glad it’s gone now.’

Allen was able to warm up his hand on the sideline for an extended time because New England’s offense lost a fumble recovery in the end zone for a Bills defense touchdown on the next possession. That gave the Patriots’ offense the ball back for another drive.

Allen may have missed plays had Buffalo’s offense quickly returned to the field.

‘Fortunately it was a longer drive so I could get some feeling and sensation back in the hand,’ Allen said. ‘If a sudden change, I probably wouldn’t have been back out there.’

Allen also hit his left funny bone, officially the ulnar nerve, in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13. He said it felt like his hand was ‘on fire.’

He received X-rays on his right shoulder after a ‘funky fall’ in last week’s 48-42 win against the Detroit Lions.

It’s a rare moment when a father realizes just how similar his son is to him, but Tiger Woods got that exact opportunity on Sunday when Charlie Woods, 15, hit a hole-in-one at the PNC Championship.

The pair of Tiger and Charlie have been playing well all weekend long. Through the first round of the tournament, the father-son duo were tied for first place with the defending champions, Team Langer, at -20. However, this was certainly the highlight of the day.

You could see the excitement on both Woods’ faces. It took a while for Charlie to realize what was going on, and even after receiving a playful push from his father, it looks like the reality of the situation hadn’t really hit him. Alas, Woods’ first-ever hole-in-one couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. On a national stage, in front of his father, while the pair are competing for a tournament championship. That’s what it’s all about.

What hole did Wood hit the hole-in-one?

Charlie Woods’ hole-in-one came on Hole No. 4, an 174-yard par 3.

How rare is this achievement?

Hitting a hole-in-one is undeniably one of the greatest achievement in sports. It’s also one of the rarest, which only makes it all the more shocking that another player participating in the PNC Championship, Paddy Harrington, also hit a hole-in-one at the eighth hole less than an hour after Woods hit his.

Woods and Harrington became just the second and third players ever to record aces at the PNC Championship. All three have been hit by kids.

How old was Tiger Woods when he hit his first hole-in-one?

It is unknown how old Woods was when he hit his first hole-in-one. Although Woods has mentioned at a clinic that he was 8 years old at the time of his first ace, an article from theOrange County Register notes that Woods was 6 years old when he earned his first ace at the Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach, California.

Woods’ first hole-in-one as a professional actually came in his professional debut on Aug. 29, 1996, at the Greater Milwaukee Open. Woods was 20 at the time.

Has the Woods family won the PNC Championship before?

They have not. However, a hole-in-one will certainly help them reach that goal. Through nine holes in the final round, Team Woods (-21) has a one-shot lead over both Team Langer (through 10 holes) and Team Singh (through 9 holes). Team Langer won the tournament in 2023, 2019 and 2014. Team Singh won the tournament in 2022.

The cover had already been designed, with Rickey Henderson striking that familiar, self-assured pose.

The problem was, the subject of the cover story didn’t realize he would be the face of the first issue of USA TODAY Baseball Weekly.

It was spring training 1991. Social media, smart phones and the internet didn’t exist.

Our writer, Tim Wendel, arrived in Arizona without realizing Henderson had blamed the media for the boos he was hearing from crowds. The reigning American League MVP wanted to renegotiate his contract.

“I’m saying, ‘Yeah, the first cover’s gonna be Rickey, so I’m gonna do Rickey,’ ” Wendel recalled telling other baseball writers he knew, “and almost to a person, everybody I ran into went, ‘Oooh, good luck with that. He’s not talking to anybody.’ And I’m going, ‘Uh oh.’ ”

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

Henderson, who died Friday at age 65, was one of the faces of baseball in 1991 as he pursued Lou Brock’s career stolen base record he would eclipse that season.

Who better to be the face of USA TODAY’s baseball-only publication? Wendel had to have him.

When Henderson was pulled from a game in the middle innings, Wendel snuck away from the other writers in the press box and down to the clubhouse at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. With his notebook in his back pocket, he saw Henderson coming around a corner with a towel around his waist.

Henderson tried to walk away as Wendel shouted, “Rickey!”

“I just want to talk about you and Brock’s all-time stolen base record,” Wendel told him, using “USA TODAY” as his publication.

“Just about Rickey and Lou?” Henderson replied.

Henderson talked, and not just about Brock. He was making about $3 million a year, according to the story Wendel would write, not even in the majors’ top 25 in those days and fourth-best on the A’s.

“I ask the people who boo me,” he told Wendel, ‘ ‘What would you think if where you work they paid somebody more who was doing less than you?’ You’d be upset about it. Anybody wants to work at a place where they respect you and pay you well.”

His interview helped launch a publication that would become an institution within the sport for not only its box scores, but its statistics, fantasy baseball coverage and in-depth player profiles. The first issue debuted, with the Henderson cover, with an on-sale date of April 4-11, 1991.

Over the years, we have evolved into Sports Weekly, adding coverage (and box scores) for football, basketball and hockey. Sports Weekly is now in its 34th year of publication.

From 2021: Baseball (now Sports) Weekly still going strong after 30 years

Its origins began during an area when athletes were often keenly aware when they appeared in print.

“This should be my golden moment,” Henderson said in the story for the first issue, “but I’ve gotten so much heat about my contract, I’m not thinking about Lou Brock or his record. This is maybe the most important thing of my life. What I’ve played 13 years for. But with all this other stuff going on, breaking Brock’s record could be kind of hollow.”

According to the story, Brock saw Henderson play at Boston’s Fenway part during Henderson’s second full year in the majors and told him: “Rickey, you’re going to be the one.”

If you watched him play in those days, stealing two bases after a walk or single before you could settle into your seat, you couldn’t help but feel the same way. He seemed born to steal bases.

Wendel learned that when Henderson was growing up, he was told to come home with a dirty uniform or else his mom wouldn’t believe he had gone to a game. If he hadn’t gotten on base during the game, he would go back out to the field and slide.

“I’ve changed the game,” he told Wendel, “and guys who are in the record book are the ones who decided how the game was played.”

On the cover of the first issue of Baseball Weekly, it reads: “Henderson contract flap: Will it tarnish Man of Steal’s run at record?”

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the highest annual salary he made as a player was $4.8 million with the A’s in 1994. It’s safe to say now, especially in light of what some players make today, he was underpaid.

“He’s the greatest leadoff hitter of all time, and I’m not sure there’s a close second,” Billy Beane, the longtime A’s executive, later told Wendel.

Henderson is also a rich part of our publication’s history.

“There’s the guy who put me on the cover of Baseball Weekly,” Henderson said when he would spot Wendel after that first issue debuted.

Borelli is the editor of USA TODAY Sports Weekly. To subscribe, go to sportsweekly.usatoday.com/delivery

LANDOVER, Md. – Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson plays for “The Birds,” but the “double bird” he flashed following his ejection from Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders will likely have him hearing from the league office. 

Gardner-Johnson received his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the officials with 11:24 left in the third quarter. He picked up his first as the television broadcast went into a commercial break, despite Commanders wideout Dyami Brown shoving Gardner-Johnson’s helmet off. 

That was one of several skirmishes between the teams in a game the Eagles played without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who left in the first quarter with a concussion. Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. were flagged for unnecessary roughness penalties. 

Gardner-Johnson intercepted Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels near the end of the first half on an overthrown pass in the middle of the field. He had one tackle before the Commanders and Eagles once again engaged in some post-play disagreements, and Gardner-Johnson drew another unsportsmanlike conduct flag for something he said. 

‘He was taunting the players,’ referee Shawn Smith explained in the pool report with a member of the Pro Football Writers Association.

All things Eagles: Latest Philadelphia Eagles news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

As he walked toward the tunnel with Eagles chief of security Dom DiSandro, Gardner-Johnson threw his gloves in frustration and flipped both middle fingers in the direction of the cheering Washington crowd.

Asked about the ejection, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said ‘they called what they called.’

‘We all have to be better there,’ he told reporters. ‘It starts with me.”

Gardner-Johnson did not meet with the media after the game, but Eagles safety Reid Blankenship said his teammate didn’t say anything nefarious.

‘I was right there,’ he said. ‘But when you’re on the hot spot, things happen. 

‘At the end of the day, I have my dude’s back.’

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn described the game as an emotional rollercoaster in both the way the score went back-and-forth during a last-minute 36-33 victory for Washington and the persistent beefs between the teams.

‘I wanted us to make sure to keep our emotion, but also, this is living in the NFL,’ Quinn said. ‘And so it isn’t gonna go good (always). There’s gonna be tough deals and bad moments, and you stay in the fight and keep going.’

These things are expected within the NFC East, especially with the division crown on the line. Washington’s victory prevented Philadelphia from clinching first place and took the Commanders a step closer to accomplishing their own postseason dreams.

“It’s a divisional game. It is what it is,’ right guard Sam Cosmi said. ‘Of course it’s going to get chippy. It always does. We don’t like them, and they don’t like us. It’s how it’s always been. I feel like it will be like that for however long the rest of football is gonna go.” 

The race to the bottom continues for the seven teams with three or fewer wins, and a date with the top pick in next year’s draft is on all of their Christmas wish lists.

Entering Week 16, the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants were neck-and-neck in the race to own the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Both teams held a 2-12 record prior to their 15th games, but the Giants’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the early slate on Sunday was enough to give them possession of the top pick.

Las Vegas had the chance to reclaim ownership of the league’s worst record with a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars later in the afternoon. However, second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell led the Raiders to their third win of the year with 257 passing yards, dropping their draft pick down to No. 6.

Here’s how the draft order looks after the late afternoon slate of games on Sunday in Week 16:

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

2025 NFL draft order

Here’s the projected 2025 NFL draft order ahead of ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 16, according to Tankathon.com:

New York Giants: 2-13 record; .554 strength of schedule
New England Patriots: 3-12; .463 SOS
Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-12; .480 SOS
Tennessee Titans: 3-12; .512 SOS
Cleveland Browns: 3-12; .530 SOS
Las Vegas Raiders: 3-12; .545 SOS
Carolina Panthers: 4-11; .500 SOS
New York Jets: 4-11; .502 SOS
Chicago Bears: 4-11; .557 SOS
New Orleans Saints: 5-9; .506 SOS
San Francisco 49ers: 6-9; .563 SOS
Dallas Cowboys: 6-8; .518 SOS
Miami Dolphins: 7-8; .417 SOS
Indianapolis Colts: 7-8; .461 SOS
Cincinnati Bengals: 7-8; .476 SOS
Arizona Cardinals: 7-8; .532 SOS
Seattle Seahawks: 8-7; .508 SOS
Atlanta Falcons: 8-7; .520 SOS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-6; .508 SOS
Los Angeles Chargers: 9-6; .474 SOS
Houston Texans: 9-6; .482 SOS
Denver Broncos: 9-6; .498 SOS
Los Angeles Rams: 9-6; .506 SOS
Washington Commanders: 10-5; .434 SOS
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-5; .488 SOS
Baltimore Ravens: 10-5; .530 SOS
Green Bay Packers: 10-4; .535 SOS
Philadelphia Eagles: 12-3; .452 SOS
Buffalo Bills: 12-3; .459 SOS
Minnesota Vikings: 13-2; .474 SOS
Detroit Lions: 13-2; .526 SOS
Kansas City Chiefs: 14-1; .490 SOS

2025 NFL draft: No. 1 overall pick odds

According to BetMGM, the following college football players entered Week 16 expected to be among the top potential picks in the 2025 NFL draft.

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado: -145
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado: +240
Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL): +600
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama: +2500
Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia: +3000

New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe’s NHL career is only 22 regular-season games old, and he has just been hit with his second significant suspension.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Sunday that Rempe was being suspended eight games for his hit on Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen during Friday night’s game.

Rempe, 22, was playing his first game since being recalled from the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League. He received a five-minute elbowing penalty and a game misconduct for the third-period play, the fourth ejection of his young career. Heiskanen returned to the game and was able to finish it.

The suspension was for both elbowing and boarding.

‘It is important to note that during an extended period of time and during the lead-up to this hit, Rempe sees nothing but Heiskanen’s back,’ the department said in its suspension video. ‘Rempe is in complete control of how this play develops and it is Rempe’s responsibility in this situation to avoid the contact, change the angle such that he does not hit a defenseless player directly from behind or at very least to minimize the force of an imminent collision.’

All things Rangers: Latest New York Rangers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Instead, he delivered a hard hit from behind and raised his elbow and forearm ‘recklessly’ while doing so, the department said.

Last season, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Rempe was suspended four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head, leaving him with a concussion.

That infraction cost him $17,083.32 in pay. Friday’s penalty will cost him $80,000 because of the longer sentence and a higher per-game cost due to him being a repeat offender.

Rempe was a Rangers fan favorite last season because of his numerous fights against some of the league’s heavyweights. That led Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Ryan Reaves, who fought Rempe, to say he was ‘going to be a menace in the league.’ He also called him ‘a really nice humble kid.’

This season, Rempe has spent most of the season in the AHL to work on his overall game. Friday was his fifth NHL game of this season.

(This story was updated to add more details about the suspension.)