Lakers-Warriors wasn't all that thrilling of a game ... until the final minutes
Austin Reaves drove past Andrew Wiggins to hit a layup with a second left as the Lakers beat the Warriors, 115-113, at Chase Center.
It was a back-and-forth game for the most part, but the Lakers went on a 7-0 run to go up 104-94 with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Steph Curry willed Golden State back with consecutive 3s to tie the game at 113 as the Lakers completely fell asleep on defense on the second 3 with 8 seconds left. All in all, Curry scored eight points in the game's final 26 seconds.
That set up the big moment for Reaves, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who were 4.5-point underdogs at BetMGM.
Curry led the Warriors with 38 points and 8 3-pointers, with Andrew Wiggins adding 21 points.
Newly acquired Dennis Schröder continued to struggle, shooting 3-of-10 from the floor for 11 points, but he did have five assists and did some good things defensively.
LeBron James was quiet down the stretch, but he did become the first player in NBA history to eclipse 500 career Christmas Day points, finishing Wednesday night’s game with 31 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Well, not every Christmas Day game can be a banger.
The final contest of the evening saw the host Phoenix Suns defeat the Denver Nuggets, 110-100.
Denver struggled from 3-point range, shooting 8-of-29 (26.7%), and had 16 turnovers. Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets, but it wasn’t his usual all-world effort as he finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.
Jamal Murray continued to be far from great, shooting 4-of-10 for 13 points with six assists and four turnovers. Entering the contest, Murray was averaging 19.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds. Denver (16-12) needs more from him as a max player if it wants to be more than middling.
Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant each had 27 points for the Suns (15-14), but Durant was far from efficient, needing 26 shots to reach his total. Durant did force the action and went to the free-throw line nine times, but he took a lot of contested midrange shots and went 0-of-5 from 3.
76ers present a holiday surprise
The Boston Celtics had a tough day at the office on Christmas Day.
The Celtics committed 12 turnovers to the 76ers’ six as Philadelphia won 118-114 at TD Garden
Despite outrebounding Philadelphia 51-39 and shooting 40.8% (20-of-49) from 3, Boston got to the free-throw line just 13 times, making eight, and struggled to contain Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting and had 12 assists and three steals.
Joel Embiid had 27 points (8-of-15 shooting) and nine rebounds in 30 minutes, and Caleb Martin had 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (7-of-9 from 3) for the 76ers, who were 10.5-point underdogs at BetMGM.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for eight turnovers as the Celtics just couldn’t find their rhythm, and the dynamic duo went long stretches without having a great impact. The pair combined for 55 points, 22 rebounds and eight assists but were definitely missing the contributions of Jrue Holiday, who was out with a shoulder injury.
The Celtics did post an 11-0 run over a two-minute span that cut the 76ers’ lead to 108-105 with 2:25 left after some sloppy play from Philadelphia. But the 76ers hung on and hit their free throws to put the game away.
Wemby puts on a show
All the talk before the Christmas Day leadoff game was Victor Wembanyama taking Manhattan.
And the second-year sensation certainly delivered.
Wembanyama scored 42 points to come close to breaking the Christmas Day debut scoring record of 45 set by a rookie Wilt Chamberlain in 1959, but the Knicks persevered down the stretch to win 117-114 on Wednesday.
Mikal Bridges had his best game of the season, scoring 41 on 17-of-25 shooting with six 3s to power the Knicks, and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 41 points.
Wembanyama added 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for San Antonio.
The Knicks, who were 9.5-point favorites at BetMGM, improved to 20-10, while San Antonio dropped to 15-15.
Christmas day games are in full swing, and the first of five did NOT disappoint 🍿👀
The Mavs are expecting Dončić to miss a significant amount of time.
The Timberwolves were in control throughout, but took their foot off gas late as the Mavericks outscored them 31-15 in the fourth quarter.
Still, the Mavs came up short as Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle combined for 49 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists.
Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 39 points on 14-of-27 shooting (five 3s), and Dončić had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists when he departed.
Full results
Knicks 117, Spurs 114
Timberwolves 105, Mavericks 99
76ers 118, Celtics 114
Lakers 115, Warriors 113
Suns 110, Nuggets 100
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER108 updates
Yahoo Sports Staff
Suns easily beat Nuggets
Well, not every Christmas Day game can be a banger.
The final contest of the evening saw the host Phoenix Suns defeat the Denver Nuggets, 110-100.
Denver struggled from 3-point range, shooting 8-of-29 (26.7%), and had 16 turnovers. Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets, but it wasn’t his usual all-world effort as he finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Suns lead after 3 quarters
The Nuggets are once again struggling from 3-point range as Phoenix leads 85-78 entering the fourth quarter.
Denver is shooting 6-of-24 (24%) from 3 and having turnover issues with 14 compared to Phoenix's five.
Kevin Durant has 23 points and Nikola Jokic has 22.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Status alert: Aaron Gordon (calf) questionable to return Wednesday.
What an anticlimactic way to end the game. Derrick White, on the inbounds, steps on the line. Ball is turned over to Philly. Game over. 118-114.
Big, BIG game by the Sixers.
Morten Stig Jensen
Philly up 116-111 with 6.2 seconds left, and on defense.
Fouling here would be... horrific.
Yahoo Sports Staff
For me, you got to guard the inbounder on this as well as go under the screen force the catch to be away from the hoop not towards it. pic.twitter.com/Uww3LwSGCV
Tatum and Brown established themselves in spurts earlier in the game, but have taken major chunks of actual game time off. Can't afford to have either become bystanders.
Morten Stig Jensen
Make that 20 points now for Caleb Martin. On just 10 shots.
Sixers up by 15 in what is unquestionably their best game of the season.
Morten Stig Jensen
Caleb Martin, who has struggled with injuries and inconsistent shooting this season, has 14 points on eight shots.
Been a tremendous release valve for the Sixers tonight.
Morten Stig Jensen
Don't think the Celtics figured they'd be in a late-game dog fight with the Sixers, but that underscores just how much health factors into a team's overall level.
The Sixers, playing with all of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George, are tied 82-82 with the Celtics as they head into the final frame.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Celtics are forcing Embiid into so many terrible shots, the catches are so far from the hoop and he’s rarely been able to operate from the nail
Tatum cans his fourth triple, and the Celtics score the first seven points of the second half.
Jaylen Brown is attempting to find his rhythm, but is just 3-11 from the field with four turnovers.
Morten Stig Jensen
76ers lead at the half
Halftime in Boston.
Sixers up 66-58.
Embiid with 18 points, and six rebounds. Maxey also with 18 points, and 8 assists.
Jayson Tatum finally came alive late, finishing the first half with 16 points and three made triples.
Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard have both struggled. A combined 2-of-14 shooting.
Morten Stig Jensen
This is, by far, the best we've seen the Sixers this season.
Ball is moving, defense on a string, excellent shot-profile, and top-tier individual execution by Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Boston have some adjustments to make for the second half.
Morten Stig Jensen
It's unfair to say the Celtics rely on the three too much, especially as the long ball helped them win a championship last season, but there are games where they flat-out need to generate more paint touches.
This, it appears, is one of those games.
Yahoo Sports Staff
This is good defense from Pritchard but Maxey is too slithery, and Porzingis leaves a small window for Maxey to squeeze through. pic.twitter.com/CCFzbiVj9a
Strong first quarter from Philly, who lead the Celtics 30-25.
Sloppy ball-handling by Boston, who has committed 6 turnovers.
Boston does have seven made triples, but needs to mix it up in the second quarter. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have not gotten downhill a ton.
Morten Stig Jensen
Sixers getting a real lift from Tyrese Maxey, who has been the heart of the offense early. 10 points, and four assists. Looks the like ankle twist pre-game hasn't influenced Joel Embiid much either. 7/4 in eight minutes.
Philly looking surprisingly competent in this first quarter.
Morten Stig Jensen
The Celtics open the game with a three-pointer, much to the surprise of everyone.
Morten Stig Jensen
You can't make this up. Joel Embiid, during pre-game warmups, stumbled and fell, tweaking his ankle.
Embiid is expected to play, but this is yet another unfortunate moment for the 7'2 center, who has struggled with odd injuries for a while now.
The Dallas Mavericks, on the heels of losing Luka Dončić and being down by 28 points, dug deep and found a way to not just get back into this one, but actually create a real chance to come away with a win.
Super, super impressive second-half effort by Dallas.
Morten Stig Jensen
Kyrie Irving has been an absolute late-game monster. 37 points, and Dallas has cut Minnesota's lead all the way down to five.
Morten Stig Jensen
Alright, alright, alright, Mavs.
Dallas turned up the defense as Edwards was out, and climbed back to within nine points after having been down by a whopping 28.
I may have to retract my "dud" comment from earlier!
Morten Stig Jensen
Mavs finally showing life. Now down 14. Kyrie Irving is lifting Dallas' offense (30 points), and Anthony Edwards is at the scorer's table, ready to check in.
Morten Stig Jensen
Wolves lead the Mavericks 90-68 after three quarters. Anthony Edwards with a cool, calm, and collected 20/5/5 line with two steals and stellar defense all throughout.
Might not be a bad idea to call his night early, and let the reserves handle the rest of this one.
Mavs are hitting 39% as a team, and their defense is in shambles. One of those games where you burn the game tape afterwards.
Morten Stig Jensen
We're quickly approaching blow-out territory with the Wolves up 26.
This has been an unfortunate dud on the schedule, obviously not aided by the injury to Luka Dončić.
Morten Stig Jensen
With Dončić out, Dallas will need to find offense elsewhere than just Kyrie Irving. Dereck Lively could be an interesting candidate to go to, simply to see what the second-year center has to offer in an enhanced role.
Morten Stig Jensen
Luka Dončić has been ruled out for the rest of the game due to a calf strain.
The 25-year-old superstar's night ends with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes.
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