The year may be winding down, but for at least a few of New York\u2019s teams, the season is starting to heat up.<\/p>\n
The Knicks<\/a> and St. John\u2019s<\/a> both have several premium matchups between now and the start of 2026.<\/p>\n And while other locals are further from contention, there is still intrigue on their upcoming schedules, too.<\/p>\n So as the rest of the city settles into their holiday vacations, here is a look at December\u2019s biggest games.<\/p>\n Giants @ New England Patriots, Dec. 1<\/p>\n This game marks the \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d debut of Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, and, more importantly, his return from a two-game absence due to a concussion.<\/p>\n It also marks the Giants\u2019 first time facing second-year Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, whom they tried hard to trade up for in the 2024 draft.<\/p>\n Although the Giants (2-10) are eliminated from playoff contention, every game is significant to Dart\u2019s development.<\/p>\n St. John\u2019s vs. Ole Miss, Dec. 6<\/p>\n It\u2019s been an uneven start for St. John\u2019s (4-3), which is 0-3 against ranked opponents and 0-2 against the SEC.<\/p>\n With an almost entirely new roster, it\u2019s understandable that the Johnnies are still building chemistry and trying things out.<\/p>\n But head coach Rick Pitino scheduled a non-conference gauntlet in order to identify his team\u2019s weaknesses as early as possible, and that continues when St. John\u2019s faces Ole Miss at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n Coached by Chris Beard, the Rebels play with a tireless defensive intensity. Their leading scorer, AJ Storr, is a familiar face, as the senior guard spent his freshman year at St. John\u2019s before Pitino\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n Knicks vs. Orlando Magic, Dec. 7<\/p>\n The Magic have been a thorn in the Knicks\u2019 side, beating them in both of their meetings this season.<\/p>\n Orlando\u2019s physicality has been a problem for the Knicks, as has forward Franz Wagner, who averaged 32.5 points on 56.1% shooting over the first two games.<\/p>\n Next weekend\u2019s rematch at the Garden offers the Knicks an opportunity to make an early season statement against another team emerging as a contender in the wide-open Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n The Magic might still be without star guard Paolo Banchero, who has not played since suffering a groin strain against the Knicks on Nov. 12.<\/p>\n St. John\u2019s vs. Iona, Dec. 13<\/p>\n This game at the Garden is compelling due to the storyline, not necessarily the on-court matchup.<\/p>\n It will be Pitino\u2019s first time facing Iona since he left the school for St. John\u2019s before the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n Iona hired Pitino in 2020, giving him his first job in college basketball after Louisville fired him three years earlier amid an FBI investigation into fraud and corruption in the sport.<\/p>\n Pitino often speaks about how important Iona was to his career. He led the Gaels to two NCAA Tournament appearances during his three seasons there.<\/p>\n Giants vs. Washington Commanders, Dec. 14<\/p>\n This is the Giants\u2019 only divisional matchup in December, although they are set to wrap up the season with a Week 18 home game against the Dallas Cowboys after the new year.<\/p>\n Historically, the Giants have dominated Washington, but the Commanders won each of the last three meetings, including in Week 1.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen if Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will be back for this game at MetLife Stadium after dislocating his left elbow in Week 9.<\/p>\n St. John\u2019s vs. DePaul, Dec. 16<\/p>\n More St. John\u2019s! This is the Johnnies\u2019 first game against a Big East opponent, albeit a lowly one.<\/p>\n Last year, St. John\u2019s tied a conference record by going 18-2 in Big East play.<\/p>\n That will be difficult to replicate, but the slate starts here with a rare conference game at Carnesecca Arena.<\/p>\n St. John\u2019s vs. Kentucky, Dec. 20<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the big one.<\/p>\n Pitino coached Kentucky from 1989-97 and led the Wildcats to a national championship in 1996. He then became an enemy when he coached rival Louisville from 2001-17.<\/p>\n This is set to be Pitino\u2019s first time facing Kentucky since 2016.<\/p>\n The matchup will take place on a neutral court at Atlanta\u2019s State Farm Arena as part of the CBS Sports Classic tournament.<\/p>\n Jets @ New Orleans Saints, Dec. 21<\/p>\n This showdown of cellar-dwellers is far from sexy, but it could be consequential.<\/p>\n Currently, the Saints (2-9) are in position for the No. 3 pick in next year\u2019s draft, while the Jets (2-9) are right behind them at No. 4.<\/p>\n This Week 16 outcome might have significant implications for two teams searching for a franchise quarterback, especially in a draft that appears light on can\u2019t-miss QBs.<\/p>\n Knicks @ Minnesota Timberwolves, Dec. 23<\/p>\n These matchups will always carry intrigue after the October 2024 trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota.<\/p>\n The Knicks won this season\u2019s first meeting, 137-114, at the Garden on Nov. 5<\/p>\n Devils @ Islanders, Dec. 23<\/p>\n The Devils have come back to Earth a bit after their 8-1 start, but they\u2019re still among the top teams in the East.<\/p>\n So are the Islanders, who beat them, 3-2 in overtime, at Prudential Center on Nov. 10.<\/p>\n Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Dec. 25<\/p>\n In another battle of Eastern Conference contenders, the Knicks are set to host the Cavaliers on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n The Cavs are the defending East No. 1 seed, though they\u2019ve been much more up and down this season compared to last, when they started 15-0 and finished with 64 wins.<\/p>\n The Knicks beat Cleveland in the season opener, which also took place at the Garden, but Cleveland was without Darius Garland and De\u2019Andre Hunter in that one.<\/p>\n Rangers @ Islanders, Dec. 27<\/p>\n The first game between these rivals was as lopsided as it gets, with the Islanders cruising to a 5-0 win at the Garden on Nov. 8.<\/p>\n Of course, the Rangers have been infinitely better on the road this season, so they\u2019ll try again at UBS Arena after Christmas.<\/p>\n Jets vs. Patriots, Dec. 28<\/p>\n These longtime rivals are in very different places right now, but the Jets were within a touchdown of the Pats (10-2) going into the fourth quarter of this season\u2019s first meeting.<\/p>\n Justin Fields was the Jets\u2019 quarterback in that 27-14 loss and has since been replaced by Tyrod Taylor.<\/p>\n The series now shifts to MetLife Stadium, where the Jets will try to play spoiler as New England attempts to nail down the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n Nets vs. Golden State Warriors, Dec. 29<\/p>\n The Nets are in the middle of a full-blown rebuild, but they can still be a hot ticket when a fan favorite comes to town.<\/p>\n And while it won\u2019t be cheap to watch Stephen Curry at Barclays Center during the heart of the holidays, it will certainly be more cost effective than trying to catch him at the Garden a few weeks later.<\/p>\n One added wrinkle: Chris DeMarco, a Warriors assistant throughout their dynasty, will soon call Barclays Center home, as the Liberty hired the up-and-comer as their head coach this month.<\/p>\n Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs, Dec. 31<\/p>\n Last year, the Knicks hosted the Spurs on Christmas, and Victor Wembanyama erupted for 42 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.<\/p>\n This year, the Spurs host the Knicks on New Year\u2019s Eve, and San Antonio appears to be much improved.<\/p>\n It will be interesting to see how Wembanyama celebrates this holiday against the Knicks \u2014 assuming he\u2019s back from the left calf injury that\u2019s currently hampering him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The year may be winding down, but for at least a few of New York\u2019s teams, the season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12565,4084,27976,12160,10663,21,4475,9,24,55,54,22,56,27940,3362,13630],"class_list":["post-56320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-christmas","tag-giants","tag-islanders","tag-jets","tag-knicks","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-nfl","tag-ny","tag-rangers","tag-rick-pitino","tag-st-johns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}