5 takeaways from NBA Christmas Day Games
The Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets extended their winning streaks during NBA Christmas Day, while the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors made a statement with impressive home wins.
At MSG, the Philadelphia 76ers rallied past the New York Knicks (115-124), while the Dallas Mavericks used a 51-point third quarter to defeat the LA Lakers (115-124).
At TD Garden, the Boston Celtics used another strong offensive performance to dominate the Milwaukee Bucks (118-139) in a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
At Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors retained the upper hand in their rivalry with the Memphis Grizzlies in a rematch of the 2022 Western Conference semi-finals (109-123).
Nikola Jokic was unstoppable and the Denver Nuggets survived a late overtime thriller vs. the Phoenix Suns (125-128) to stay on top of the West.
That said, here are five takeaways from NBA Christmas Day action:
#1 - Joel Embiid and James Harden have taken over for the Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers weren't playing well until early in December, and worse than that, Joel Embiid thought he was playing soft. Yet, things have changed over the past three weeks.
''We just know how to play. We just know what to do,'' Embiid said after Philadelphia extended its winning streak to eight games.
Embiid scored 35 points, Harden had 29 points and 13 assists, and the Sixers maintained a Top-4 push in the East (20-12).
''It was one of those games where you've just got to stick around,'' Harden said. ''Like, stick around, stick around and then fourth quarter you give yourself a chance.''
Harden and Embiid combined for 64 points, 14 assists, and 12 boards, showing once again that their performance will determine whether the franchise will fight for the title this season.
Embiid is averaging 36 points, 10 boards, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks on 50% from beyond the arc in December, while Harden is averaging 12.7 assists during the eight-game winning streak.
#2 - LA Lakers continue to suffer with Anthony Davis out
Anthony Davis remains out for the LA Lakers with a stress injury to his foot as the franchise continues to suffer.
This time, it was the Dallas Mavericks that defeated the 17-time NBA champions (115-124), thanks to a 51-21 run in the third quarter. Despite LeBron James scoring 38 points, the Lakers collapsed in the second half and suffered another loss.
''We talked about before the game just being ready to initiate, sustain and finish with energy, effort and competitiveness,'' Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. ''We left it in the locker room at halftime.''
Los Angeles fell to 1-4 in the five games that Davis has missed, and with the All-Star big man set to miss at least another two weeks, the future is not bright for the Lakers.
"Reality is, without AD, we lose a lot of length, which we don't have already," James told reporters in his post-game interview, via Marca. "So, we have to make up in ways that, without AD, is very difficult.
"It's very challenging, at one point we had a lineup where Austin Reaves was our tallest guy on the court, so, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out."
Final: Mavs 124, Lakers 115
The Lakers drop to 13-20 and 1-4 since Anthony Davis’ foot injury. They have allowed 124+ points in four of those five games. LeBron had 38 points. With four games left on this trip, LA needs to stop their unraveling soon.
Up next: at ORL on Tuesday.
#3 - Milwaukee Bucks not concerned after losing 3rd straight
The Milwaukee Bucks suffered their third straight defeat after losing to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden (118-139).
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 70 points, 12 boards, 9 assists, and four steals for the winners, who put in another stellar offensive performance.
The Bucks have lost their last three games by an average of 15,6 points and continue to struggle, especially defensively.
''Obviously, we lost to them last year in the playoffs and we've had battles with them since I got to Milwaukee,' said Bucks forward Pat Connaughton. ''So they're two teams that are very familiar with each other.''
''But it's also December 25th. The NBA season is a long season, and we will be a much better basketball team by the end of this year than we are right now,'' he said. 'I'm sure they will be, too.''
Milwaukee (22-11) is just 1.5 games ahead of the fifth-placed Sixers, while the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-13) and Brooklyn Nets (22-12) are just a game behind.
#4 - Golden State Warriors maintain momentum in rivalry with Grizzlies
Over the past two years, the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies have created a rivalry that intensified during the 2022 Western Conference semi-finals.
The Grizzlies are third in the West this year (20-12), while the reigning champions are fighting to enter the play-in spots (16-18).
On NBA Christmas Day, though, it was the Warriors who made a statement and showed their title potential.
Even without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, they dominated the Grizzlies on Sunday and improved to 4-1 in the NBA Christmas Day games they have played as reigning champions.
On the contrary, Memphis went 9 of 39 from deep and suffered its eighth loss in 10 games against the Warriors (8-2).
#5 - Nikola Jokic is playing at an MVP level and the Denver Nuggets climb to the top
Nikola Jokic had 41 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists for his 83rd career triple-double in a 125-128 home overtime win over the Phoenix Suns.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP had a 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist performance a week ago and continues to play at an MVP level.
Jokic is averaging 30 points, 13.1 boards, and 10.3 assists in December while leading the way in Player Efficiency Rate with 32.33.
''Sick,'' Gordon said of the statistics Jokic is posting these days. ''Those are video game numbers.''
It was the fourth 40-point, 15-board, 15-assist game in NBA history, with Jokic joining Oscar Robertson (1961, 1962) and James Harden (2016).
With Nikola Jokic leading the way, the Nuggets have won four straight and seven of their last eight and have climbed to the top of the West standings with a 21-11 record.