Merry Christmas!
The NBA’s holiday tradition continued with a healthy slate of five games on Christmas Day. Some of the league’s best were in action, and with all eyes on them, they lived up to the hype with massive performances.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. In his first game against his former team, LeBron James came up short as the Miami Heat defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91. James finished with 30 points, eight assists and four rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 1 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block from Dwyane Wade and 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Luol Deng.
Wade has scored at least 30 points in two of his past four games. He did it twice in all of 2013-14.
2. Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka led the Oklahoma City Thunder past the San Antonio Spurs 114-106 at the AT&T Center. Westbrook finished with 34 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and five steals, and Ibaka scored 21 points for OKC, while Matt Bonner led San Antonio with 17 points.
Westbrook has scored at least 25 points in a career-best 10 consecutive games.
3. John Wall led the Washington Wizards into Madison Square Garden to help the New York Knicks pick up a 102-91 victory. Wall finished with 24 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and one steal for Washington, while Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Knicks.
The Knicks have lost six consecutive games.
4. Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose put forth a strong collective effort to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 113-93 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Butler scored 21 points and Rose had had 20 points to overcome 13 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks from Ed Davis.
Chicago has won five in a row overall and possesses a separate five-game winning streak at home.
5. In an ugly defensive battle, the Los Angeles Clippers turned it on in the second half to defeat the Golden State Warriors 100-86. Chris Paul led the charge with 22 points, Jamal Crawford had 24 and Blake Griffin had a big final two quarters for 18 total points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
Golden State is 2-3 in its past five games. It was 21-2 in its previous 23.
Bonus Fact: Derrick Rose has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games for the first time since January of 2012.