The holidays are here, and five must-see matches have taken place in NBA slate.
Check out what happened on Christmas day, like Yaron Weitzman, Buchou Ric and Melissa Rohlin share their key takeaways from each primetime competition.
Philadelphia 76ers 119, New York Knicks 112
Current position: The Sixers are currently 20-12 and are currently on an eight-game winning streak. The Knicks are currently losing 18-16 and have lost three games in a row.
Key stats: Joel Embiid continues to assert himself as the best player in the game. He is leading the league in goals and scored 35 points in Sunday’s win.
Main attractions: The story of this game — before and during — is James Harden. An hour before kick-off, we received the bomb, courtesy of Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPNthat Harden is “seriously considering a return.” Houston rocket in free agency this July.” Then, in the game, Harden scored the Knicks 29 points and 13 assists while helping the 76ers win 119-112 at Madison Square Garden. This win was the Sixers’ eighth in a row, and it represented what the team envisioned combining Harden with Embiid, the two dominant players (Embiid had 35 points on 12 to 22), who , when at their best, form an invincible combination. It’s always a matter of whether the stars care and are willing to work together. Games like this show what they look like. How they work Reports like the one that came out this morning is understandable why you still have doubts. — Yaron Weitzman
Dallas Mavericks 124, Los Angeles Lakers 115
Current position: Both LA and Dallas have performed poorly this season. The Lakers are leading 13-20 and have now lost four games in a row. The Mavs are currently 18-16 and have won three games in a row.
Key stats: This season, Mavs is currently 15-6 when Luka Dončić score 31 and above. But today I’m not alone, because christian wood bring up 30 and Tim Hardaway Jr. count 26.
Main attractions: Mavericks dare LeBron James to defeat them – the Lakers dared not do the same to Dončić. In the end, Dallas’ cockfighting style proved to be better to win 124-115. The Lakers and James, as they often have this season, looked like a formidable opponent from the start but faded later in life. Meanwhile, concerns about Dončić’s supporting cast seem to be well-founded in the first 24 minutes. Forcing the ball out of his hand by double hitting him as soon as he crossed the half court worked extremely well, as Hardaway and Spencer Dinwiddie Shoot combinations 1 to 10 for a total of three points. Meanwhile, the Mavs were pleased with the second defender running to James selectively, and he took full advantage, scoring 18 points in the first half as he shot nine to 13 to give the Lakers an 11-point lead. during recess.
But that all changed in the third quarter. The Lakers continued to double down on Dončić, but faster decisions and better ball movements overall led to a 3 second opening. After missing 12 of 17 long-range attempts in the first half, the Mavs buried 7 of 11 attempts in the third half and limited the Lakers to 1-6 in the same range, all leading. to a 31-point turnaround, Dallas had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. James added 20 points in the second half for a game-high 38, but half of that came from the free-throw line in the final time after the result had been decided. Dončić, having expended the least amount of energy in the first half, came to life: 22 points, seven assists (no revenue) and six rebounds to complete a table and a dime short. to make a double. — Buchou Ric
Boston Celtics 139, Milwaukee Bucks 118
Current position: With victory, Boston still tops the East with a score of 24-10. Milwaukee is currently 11/22, as it awaits the return of Kris Middleton once again.
Key stats: Jayson Tatum came out for Boston in the biggest game of the season so far, scoring 41 points from 14 of 22 shots, seven rebounds and five assists. The Celtics are leading 15-3 this season when Tatum scores 30 points or more, 5-1 when he scores 40 or more and 12-2 when he shoots 50% or more from the field.
Main attractions: When Tatum played like he was the best player in the NBA, the Boston Celtics played like the best team in the league. That was demonstrated again in a match between the league’s top two teams in a Christmas Day primetime tie, the Celtics trailing the Bucks to a 139-118 win behind Tatum by 41 points.
On the competitive front, the game was closer than the final score might suggest, but the Celtics controlled most of the night. The Bucks entered the game as the league’s third-best defense, with Brook López was the nominee for Defensive Player of the Year, and Jrue holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo longtime All-Defense team selection. But Tatum looked completely unfazed and scoring at all levels – inside, mid-range, long-range – worked.
For whatever reason, when Tatum plays confidently, it spreads to the rest of the Boston team. Point guard Marcus Smart was at his best, scoring just six points, but making eight assists with just one rotation. Brown Jaylen struggled at the free throw line (2-6) but proved clinically effective elsewhere (11-19 final, 5-9 over 3 seconds) with 29 points. Tatum took down three of his seven 3s (42.9%) and that inspired the entire team to shoot continuously (total 19 to 39, almost 50%). The Celtics overtook the Bucks from outside the arc, 57-39.
That also keeps the Celtics at their most prolific all season, with center Robert William came on from the bench in his fourth appearance of the season, and the Bucks did not, with All-Star keeper Khris Middleton sidelined for the fifth consecutive game. Williams only enhanced one of the Celtics’ advantages over the Bucks: depth. Boston’s bench overcame Milwaukee 40-29.
Antetokounmpo has shown at times that he can erase that and every other advantage an opponent might have, but this was not one of those times. His plus minus -27 is the worst on the team, and he needed 22 shots to score 27. In a battle between two of this season’s top MVP contenders, the edge: Tatum.
Golden State Warriors 123, Memphis Grizzlies 109
Current position: Memphis and Golden State are going in two different directions, but the GS grabbed a much-needed win on Sunday. Grizz is near the top of the West with a score of 20-13 and has won 8 of the last 11 matches. Warriors are at the score of 16-18 and lost 7 of the last 10 matches.
Key stats: Are from Steph curry With a shoulder injury, the Warriors are leading 2-3. And even though they got a 16-point win at Toronto 18 and won 14 points on Sunday, their three losses since Curry’s injury averaging 26.7 points.
Main attractions: I’ve been saying for a long time that you can’t belittle the Warriors even though they’ve struggled a lot this season. On Christmas Eve, they showed why that was true. Without Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, Warriors, placed 11th at the Western Conference, beating the second-seeded Grizzlies. For the defending champions, Sunday’s game was personal after their Western Conference semi-final series against the Grizzlies last season, in which there was a lot of trash talk and glee.
So without their two biggest stars, the Warriors won by committee.
Jordan Poole had the highest 32 points in 29 minutes. Blue Draymond hit master class in everything but scoring, finishing with 13 rebounds, 13 assists and a stellar defensive performance (while scoring just three). And the group also has a significant contribution from Klay Thompson (24 points), Donte DiVincenzo (19 points), Ty Jerome (14 points), Anthony Lamb (11 points) and Moses mood (10 points).
The Warriors made 18 3-pointers, twice as many as the Grizzlies. Despite the performance of 36 points, seven rebounds and eight assists from Ja Morant, the Grizzlies couldn’t outshine the Warriors’ team effort. It was a great Christmas present for the injured Curry, who was always smiling in his green suit and cheering on his team from the bench. —Melissa Rohlin
Denver nuggets 128, Phoenix Suns 125 (OT)
Current position: Denver is competing for the best team in the league, topping the West with a 21-11 scoreline and having won seven of its last eight. Phoenix, the top team in the West a year ago, is currently sitting at 19-15 and has won only three of its last 11 games.
Key stats: Defending MVP Nikola Jokić is supposed to be getting better. He is the only non-scoring guard in the top 10 for assists, and after Sunday he has seven triple-doubles leading the league for the year.
Main attractions: The last game is probably the most interesting. The Nuggets won in extra time 128-125 against the Suns, which included a first-time triple double that added 40 points over Christmas from Jokić (41 points, 15, rebounds and 15 assists) and a spectacular trick of Aaron Gordon above Embarrassed Landry with 24 seconds remaining in extra time could get him some real All-Star considerations.
The nail-biter has had six lead changes and six draws, with both teams having a double-digit lead at times. What’s impressive for the Suns is that they made such a competitive game though Booker Devin played only four minutes after recreating his groin injury. In his absence, Shamet, a sub, led the Suns with 31 points when shooting 10 to 20, including 7 times 3.
But Joki’s monster performance, Gordon (28 points on 11 to 18 and 13 rebounds) and Jamal Murray (26 points, 14 of which he scored in the fourth half) sent the Nuggets past the Suns, giving them their best Christmas present: the #1 seed at the Western Conference. —Melissa Rohlin
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He is the author of “Reaching to the Top: Philadelphia 76ers and the boldest run in professional sports history.” Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.
Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He has previously written for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, “Rebound,” about NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, and “Yao: A Life In Two Worlds.” He also has a daily podcast, “On The Ball with Ric Bucher.” Follow him on Twitter @Ric Bucher.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She has previously covered the tournament for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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