LeBron James and Steph Curry delivered a Christmas Day thriller because the Los Angeles Lakers narrowly defeated the Golden State Warriors, 115-113, on Wednesday.
Curry drilled a clutch 31-foot 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to tie the sport, however Austin Reaves answered with a game-winning layup with simply 1.1 seconds remaining.
The two iconic gamers, each future Hall of Famers, exchanged 3-pointers in a dramatic end, with James scoring 31 factors and including 10 assists, all whereas enjoying with out teammate Anthony Davis, who left the sport within the first quarter resulting from an ankle harm.
Reaves capped off his triple-double efficiency with 26 factors, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, securing the Lakers’ hard-fought victory.
Curry’s 38 factors included 8-of-15 capturing from past the arc, whereas Andrew Wiggins added 21 factors and 12 rebounds, however Golden State fell to its eleventh loss in 14 video games.
“Today is the day of giving, and that’s what me and Steph continue to do and try to do for our fans, for our beautiful game,” James stated.
“We don’t know how many times we’re going to be able to have this matchup. We try to give the game what it deserves because it’s given us so much, we try to give it right back,” he added.
James was enjoying in a file nineteenth Christmas Day recreation and took the event to take a mild swipe on the NFL’s encroachment on the day.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” he stated.
Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks edged Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, 117-114, in a thriller at Madison Square Garden.
French star Wembanyama put up 42 factors with 18 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Spurs, however Bridges took the glory with a superb 15-point fourth-quarter show, ending with a season-high 41 factors and the win.
The 20-year-old, who stands 7-foot-3, shot 16-of-31 from the sector and made six of 16 3-point makes an attempt. While Bridges earned the applause from the house crowd, he was fast to reward the Frenchman.
“From 40 feet out, from right under the rim, from 15 feet out, he’s just unbelievable. Just to see what he’s doing, credit to him and how much work he has put in,” stated Bridges.
The 28-year-old Bridges, who was traded from the Brooklyn Nets in July, shot 17-of-25 from the sector and was 6-for-9 from past the arc as his workforce improved to 20-10.
San Antonio was only a level behind with two minutes remaining earlier than Bridges made back-to-back jumpers to open up a five-point lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns (21 factors) and Jalen Brunson (20 factors, 9 assists) have been essential for the Knicks within the win.
76ers upset Celtics
Defending champions the Boston Celtics (22-8) misplaced back-to-back video games for the primary time this season after they have been upset at dwelling by the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-114.
Injury-prone 76ers star Joel Embiid damage his ankle in a pregame fall however was in a position to begin and confirmed his significance with 27 factors, 9 rebounds, and the game-clinching free throws on the finish to seal the win for 11-17 Philadelphia.
Tyrese Maxey scored 33 factors and added 12 assists, together with his 13 factors within the fourth quarter essential as Philadelphia, which had led by 16 on the break, recovered from Boston’s third-quarter rally.
Jayson Tatum topped scored for the Celtics with 32 factors and in addition grabbed 15 rebounds.
It was removed from a Merry Christmas for the Dallas Mavericks, who misplaced their Slovenian star Luka Doncic to a calf harm within the second quarter of their 105-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a rematch of final season’s Western Conference Finals.
Doncic, who had scored 14 factors, limped out of the sport and didn’t return. The Mavericks did handle a courageous comeback try with out him, earlier than falling brief.
Anthony Edwards put up 26 factors for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves led 57-40 at halftime and prolonged that benefit to twenty-eight factors earlier than Dallas, led by Kyrie Irving’s 39 factors, began to work its manner again into the competition.
It was shut on the finish, however Irving missed a 3-point shot that may have given Dallas the lead within the final minute, and a two-foot shot from Edwards and a pair of free throws from Julius Randle ensured the win.
Source: www.dailysabah.com