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The big national game leading up to Christmas is a game between Eastern Conference division leaders on Friday night. The Chicago Bulls go to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks. Both the Bulls and Knicks are at the top of their division, New York has a commanding six-game lead in the Atlantic Division.
Chicago has a one-game lead over the Pacers and Bucks, and they have been able to play this well by not having guard Derrick Rose, who is still recovering from an ACL injury. This matchup is on NBA TV at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The Houston Rockets hit the hardwood on Saturday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. James Harden leads the Rockets in scoring with 25.4 points per game, but they need more than just Harden if they are going to try to pull off the upset. The Rockets game can be seen on Comcast Sports Houston at 7 p.m CT.
On Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs are facing off in another key Southwest division matchup. This game is huge as San Antonio needs to win to be able to keep up with the Grizzlies, who are tied with the Spurs for the Southwest-division lead. The Mavericks will have some tired legs as this will be their third game in four nights.
The full NBA schedule is available at SI.com.