5 must-see NBA games in December include a lot of Los Angeles Lakers

LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NBA LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard
LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

2. LA Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, Dec. 25

The NBA didn’t even hide the fact it was hoping both of these squads in L.A. would be as good as advertised, putting the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers on opening night and following it up with a second of four meetings on Christmas Day.

But with marquee stars such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for the Clippers, marquee placement by the NBA only makes sense.

The Clippers took round one back on Oct. 22, winning as the “home” team at Staples Center 112-102 as Leonard had 30 points in his official debut for LA. Lou Williams added 21 points off the bench for the Clippers, who outscored the Lakers reserves by a 60-19 margin.

Danny Green, the other former Toronto Raptor playing in the game, led the Lakers with 28 points, while Anthony Davis scored 25 in his debut for Los Angeles.

It’s a rivalry that has seldom felt like a rivalry, with the Lakers leading the all-time series 148-73 and the Clippers dominating in recent years, going 24-5 against their roommates at Staples Center since the start of the 2012-13 season.