Christmas Day games have been kind to Broncos, not Nuggets

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Denver Nuggets will be among the featured NBA Christmas Day teams as they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at Pepsi Center on Wednesday night.

The game will be just the second tilt a Denver professional team has hosted — the Broncos have played three times on the road — with the first happening in 1994 between the Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics.

And while holiday has been kind to the Broncos (2-1), Christmas has been mostly a nightmare for the Nuggets (1-5), including last night’s loss to the lowly Pelicans.

Let’s take a look back on each of the Broncos and Nuggets games played on Christmas Day:

2016 ­| Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs

(Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images)

This was a forgettable affair on the field for the reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, who got smoked by the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead to eliminate themselves from the postseason.

However, the game would become more notable for the conversation then-head coach Gary Kubiak had with general manager John Elway.

That was the weekend Kubiak, citing health and family issues, met with Elway to tell his boss, and old friend, of his desire to step away from coaching.

A week later, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter broke the news that Kubiak would resign after the season, just ahead of the team’s season finale at home against the Oakland Raiders.

The next day, Kubiak made it official during a press conference at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters.

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2012 | Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers

In what would be George Karl’s final season as Denver’s head coach, the Nuggets took on the Los Angeles Clippers, who had won 13 straight games at the time, on Christmas Day 2012.

(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

Denver’s hopes of coming away with an upset, streak-breaking win were dashed by a 22-point performance from Jamal Crawford to go with Matt Barnes’ 20 points.

Just a week later, on New Year’s Day, the Nuggets would snap the Clippers win streak at 17 games.

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2010 | Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder

In what would have been his final Christmas Day game with Denver, star forward Carmelo Anthony was inactive for this holiday matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Denver, which got 30 points from Chauncey Billups and a double-double from Nenê Hilário (21 points and 12 rebounds), were no match for the trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook ­— who combined for 84 points.

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2009 | Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers

In his first Christmas Day appearance, Anthony led all Nuggets players with 32 points while teammate Kenyon Martin totaled 14 rebounds and 12 points of his own for a double-double.

However, LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double of his own (10 points and 13 rebounds) while Brandon Roy put up a game-high 41 points.

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2004 | Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

The Broncos, led by Jake Plummer, went into The Coliseum in Nashville and took down the lowly Tennessee Titans, 37-16, on their way to a 10-6 record and a berth as a wild card team in the postseason.

It would be the second of three straight playoff appearances for the Broncos, including a trip to the AFC Championship the following season, all with Plummer under center.

Just two seasons later in 2006, Plummer lost the starting role to Jay Cutler during the first of three playoff-less seasons that would spell the end of Mike Shanahan’s tenure as Denver’s head coach.

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1999 | Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions

(Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

The first time Broncos played on Christmas Day in team history happened during the 1999 season, wherein the Brian Griese-led Denver squad finished up back-to-back Super Bowl campaigns with a 6-10 record.

The game also happened to be the first CBS broadcasted during the holiday in nearly three decades.

In a fairly uneventful game, Denver was able to snag one of its six wins that season during the holiday, taking down the Lions 17-7 on a 45-yard Olandis Gary rush and a Dwayne Carswell reception for touchdowns to go along with a Jason Elam field goal.

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1994 | Seattle SuperSonics at Denver Nuggets

The only Christmas Day game ever held in Denver also happens to be the Nuggets only win on the holiday as well.

Led by 23 points from Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, 22 points from Rodney Rogers and a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) from Dikembe Mutombo, the Nuggets handled one of the Western Conference’s top teams in the Seattle SuperSonics.

The game was perhaps foreshadowed by the previous postseason, wherein the Nuggets handed the Sonics a first-round loss to become the first No. 8-seeded team to take down a No. 1 seed.

***

1979 | Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz

Just a few years after joining the NBA, the Nuggets played, and lost, the first Christmas Day game in Denver pro sports history against the Utah Jazz.

That game featured a pair of double-doubles from Nuggets players George McGinnis  (11 points and 10 assists) and Dan Issel (37 points and 12 rebounds).

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