"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day": LeBron James drops the mic after epic duel with Steph Curry

LeBron James didn't hold back after an epic duel with rival Steph Curry lit up the NBA's Christmas Day slate that competed against the NFL for the first time in years. The Lakers star, who is a huge fan of the pro football league, evidently wasn't a fan of the scheduling. He made his thoughts known after putting up a show alongside Curry, saying:

"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day"

LeBron finished the night with 31 points, four rebounds and 10 assists on 54.5% shooting, while Curry had 38 points and six assists on 14 of 24 shots, including 8 of 15 from 3.

The close battle ended with LeBron James ending on the winning side following a 115-113 win. It was his third Christmas Day victory over Steph Curry in four games. While LeBron had a 30-point game himself, it was Austin Reaves, who willed the Lakers to a win with the clutch game-winner to cancel Curry's insane late-game burst with eight straight points.

After the Warriors superstar tied the game 118-118 with eight seconds to go following a 30-foot jumper, Reaves nailed the game-winning layup with a second to go. He finished with a 26-point triple-double, adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was a massive effort from the fourth-year guard after Anthony Davis went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter and played only seven minutes.

---

NBA fans hail LeBron James' jab at NFL

LeBron James' jab at the NFL for trying to compete against the NBA received flowers from basketball fans across the internet.

One fan tweeted:

"It’s not even a debate tbh," another added.

Another tweeted:

Meanwhile, some fans felt the NFL would go even harder at the NBA after LeBron James' comments.

"goodell about to run a full-10 game slate on netflix for christmas next year after seeing this video lmao," one fan wrote.

The ratings weren't out yet, but the NBA certainly trumped the NFL with the excitement for Christmas after producing games that went down to the wire. All six matchups seemingly were very close and exceeded expectations after prior criticism.