Bulls vs. Spurs 2016 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online

Christmas day may be riddled with headliners like a Cavaliers-Warriors NBA Finals rematch and a New York-Boston rivalry showdown, but the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs will face off in a holiday matchup nationally televised on ABC at 5:30 p.m. EST and available for live stream on WatchESPN.

The Bulls notedly moved on from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, both of whom landed with the Knicks in the summer, and added proven veterans to support emerging superstar Jimmy Butler. With a roster now featuring Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, Chicago is looking to make the playoffs after missing the postseason last year. But the Bulls have lost seven of their last 10 games and have fallen out of the playoffs, sitting ninth in the East.

The Spurs, in the post-Tim Duncan era, are looking to continue the sustained dominance orchestrated by masterful head coach Gregg Popovich. San Antonio has a new face — reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard — and with LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol in tow, the Spurs look to challenge Golden State, yet again, for a shot at a finals appearance. They have won 10 of their last 12 games.

How to watch

Tip-Off: 5 p.m. EST
Channel: ABC
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

3 Things to Know

Chicago ranks dead last in the NBA in points in the fourth quarter (22.6), fourth-quarter field goal percentage (37.3), and fourth quarter three-point percentage (26.5). Wade said he thinks the Bulls’ fourth-quarter offense is too predictable.

”I think ideally we want to get to a point where we just want to move bodies, man,” he said, according to ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell. “Offensively, we got to be able to move bodies. It doesn’t matter if a guy knows who it’s going to. If the paint is packed because you’re running one action, then it’s going to be tough. A guy’s got to make an unbelievable shot.”

Leonard has steadily improved every season he’s been in the league. Now there are murmurs of his candidacy for league Most Valuable Player. Leonard is the young player most rival league executives would have on their team.

That’s because he’s coachable, committed to defense, and more importantly, committed to winning. Leonard already has a laundry list of accolades: two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year; 2013-14 NBA Finals MVP; and 2015-16 All-NBA team. The Spurs will be in really good shape if he continues to improve.

There’s no more arguing over whose team the Chicago Bulls are: Those days are gone. Both Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo conceded it. The Bulls belong to Jimmy Butler, and his veteran co-stars are there to help him carry Chicago to new heights.

Butler is having a career year, averaging 24 points and seven rebounds. And if one thing has become clear this season, it’s that even though Chicago will need both Wade and Rondo to be successful, the Bulls will go as Butler goes.