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NBA Christmas Day winners and losers: Luka Doncic dazzles. Steve Kerr goes on epic rant.
Denver won its fifth consecutive game.
Boston wrapped up a four-game West Coast road trip with three consecutive victories.
Steph Curry’s Christmas Day struggles continued.
Philadelphia dropped to 0-4 without Joel Embiid this season.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 in Christmas games. And the Heat found another significant contributor that other teams overlooked.
Luka Doncic dominated in the nightcap, scoring 50 points.
Here's what happened in the NBA on Christmas:
Let’s take a look at the NBA’s Christmas Day winners and losers:
WINNERS
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic, 24, became the sixth player to score 10,000 points before his 25th birthday, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady. He finished with 50 points – becoming the fourth player to score 50 on Christmas, per ESPN – and added 15 assists.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson
Last week, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon created a stir when she said the Knicks need a 1A-caliber player to become a title contender, implying Jalen Brunson isn’t a 1A player on a title team.
Her point is not invalid, considering the best player on the past 10 title teams were all forwards or centers, except of course Golden State’s Steph Curry, an all-time great.
Brunson had everyone calling him “1A” after his 38-point, six-assist performance in the Knicks’ 129-122 victory against the Bucks. He connected on 15-of-28 shots – with just one made 3-pointer. It was the third-highest scoring output for a Knicks player on Christmas – behind Bernard King (60) and Richie Guerin (40).
Three other Knicks scored at least 20 points: Julius Randle (24), RJ Barrett (21) and Immanuel Quickley (20).
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combined for 54 points – 28 for Murray, 26 for Jokic. Murray was 10-for-18 from the field and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jokic made just 4-of-12 shots but was 18-for-18 from the free throw line (more on that later, from Warriors coach Steve Kerr) and had 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Denver Nuggets forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon
Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon each had double-doubles for the Nuggets. Porter had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and Gordon contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics started their four-game road trip with an overtime loss to Golden State, then clobbered Sacramento 144-119, smashed the Los Angeles Clippers 145-108 and took care of the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115. All five Celtics starters – one the best starting fives in the league – scored at least 18 points against the Lakers, led by Kristaps Porzingis (28 points) and Jayson Tatum (25 points).
Boston has the best record at 23-6, has won eight of it past nine games and 11 of its past 13 and four of the Celtics’ next five games are against teams with losing records: Detroit, Toronto, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Utah.
Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is one of the league’s top rookies and headed for All-Rookie honors. Against Philadelphia, he scored a career-high 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting and added 10 rebounds (five offensive) and two steals. It was his first double-double.
Among rookies, he is fourth in scoring (13.7 per game), 10th in rebounding (3.9), seventh in assists (2.5) and is shooting 51.6% from the field and 37.9% on 3s. It's no surprise Miami selected a quality contributor with the No. 18 pick in the 2023 draft.
Golden State Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski
Brandin Podziemski, the No. 19 pick in the 2023 draft, had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals, joining Ben Simmons, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall as the only rookies in the past 15 years to record at least 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in a game.
Steve Kerr for the quote of the day
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was unhappy with Nikola Jokic’s 18 free throws and the 26 free throws Denver attempted in the second half.
"I have a problem with how we are legislating the defense out of the game," Kerr said. "We are enabling players to BS their way to the foul line. If I were a fan, I wouldn't have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting. It was just baiting refs into calls, but the refs have to make those calls. … The players are really smart in this league. For the last decade, they've gotten smarter and smarter. We have enabled the players, and they are taking full advantage.
"It's a parade to the free throw line, and it's disgusting to watch."
Kerr tight-roped a fine. Let's see if he gets one.
"If I were a fan, I wouldn't have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting."
Steve Kerr believes the NBA has legislated defense out of the game pic.twitter.com/KdSwQByhTh— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 25, 2023
LOSERS
The Suns have made significant moves to acquire Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal and form a Big 3 with Devin Booker. Beal has played in just six games this season, the Big 3 have spent just 24 minutes on the court together in two games and the Suns lack the depth to make up for it. They dropped to 14-15 and have lost seven of their past nine games, including three consecutive.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Curse of the In-Season Tournament continues. When the Lakers won the In-Season Tournament title Dec. 9, they were 14-9 and in a virtual four-way tie for third place in the Western Conference. Since then, they are 2-5, including losses to San Antonio (4-24) and Chicago (13-18) and have five losses in six games. They now sit in ninth place in the West.
Golden State Warriors' Splash Brothers
Golden State guard Steph Curry is the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history. No one has made more 3s than Curry. But he didn’t have his shot going against Denver. It happens. He went just 3-for-13 on 3-pointers and finished with 18 points – and the Warriors were outscored by 26 points with Curry on the court in the loss to the Nuggets. Christmas has not been Curry’s best day, averaging just 15.6 points on 31.7% shooting from the field and 23.1% on 3s in 10 games.
Klay Thompson is one of the game’s best 3-point shooters, too. He is No. 8 on the all-time made 3-pointers list and could pass LeBron James this season and finish his career among the top-5. But he went just 3-for-10 on 3s and finished with nine points.
Damian Lillard's 3-point shot
Milwaukee guard Damian Lillard is another one of the game’s all-time great 3-point shooters – extending range beyond what was considerable acceptable. Despite his 32 points, he had an off game, too, going 4-for-13 from deep against the Knicks.
Philadelphia 76ers-Miami Heat game
No Joel Embiid for the Sixers. No Jimmy Butler for the Heat. Two players who fans want to see, and two players who make a matchup more compelling did not play. Embiid, last season’s MVP, has a sprained right ankle, and Butler has a strained left calf.
TO BE DETERMINED
TV ratings
The NBA’s five games were up against the NFL’s three games – including a big game for the Kansas City Chiefs and a high-profile San Francisco-Baltimore matchup.
The NBA still managed decent TV ratings for some of its games last season, when Christmas fell on a Sunday and the league also had to compete against three NFL games.
Monday's NBA games were OK with some solid individual performances.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Christmas games winners, losers: Luka, Lakers, Celtics, Steve Kerr
