James, who scored 31 in the win, is up to 507 points on Christmas Day, the most in NBA history.
Additionally, James tallied his 11th victory on Christmas Day, breaking a tie with former teammate Dwyane Wade for most all-time.
You can read our Christmas grades for each team below.
At that point, it looked like Victor Wembanyama’s spectacular Christmas Day debut was going to be the story of the game.
Speaking of Reaves, the man got to the rim at will on Christmas Day, leveraging his shot by attacking the basket with aggression all night long.
With a 110-100 victory over the Nuggets, the Suns concluded the NBA’s five-game Christmas schedule. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 27 points for the Suns, while Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
The day began at Madison sq\. Garden with the Knicks defeating Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in an exciting game. The Mavericks then came close to winning against the Timberwolves, and the 76ers defeated the Celtics by a slim margin.
A titanic matchup between Stephen Curry and the Warriors and LeBron James and the Lakers was preceded by those three. After a last-second layup by Austin Reaves, James and the Lakers won 115-113. With 38 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 7:01 remaining, Curry led all scorers.
With 31 points in the victory, James now has 507 points on Christmas Day, which is the highest total in NBA history. Furthermore, James broke a tie with former teammate Dwyane Wade for the most victories ever on Christmas Day by recording his 11th victory.
Our Christmas grades for each team are listed below.
NBA Christmas Day results for 2024.
Spurs 114, Knicks 117 (grades).
(Grades) Timberwolves 105, Mavericks 99.
(Grades) Celtics 114, 76ers 118.
115 Lakers, 113 Warriors (grades).
100 Nuggets, 110 Suns.
The Knicks versus… Spurs scores.
The New York Knicks were behind 19–6 at the start of the fourth quarter, but it is easy to forget how the game ended. It appeared that Victor Wembanyama’s incredible Christmas Day debut would be the game’s main event at that point. However, Karl-Anthony Towns, who had five fouls, was benched for the entire Knicks’ 23–9 run in response. New York only made 13 of 39 (33). percent) from deep in the game, but when the team needed large 3-pointers, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby all made them. In addition, Bridges made what seemed like every midrange jumper he attempted, and he chose a fantastic moment to have (by far) his best game while wearing a Knicks uniform: 41 points on 17-for-25 shooting (6-for-9 from beyond the arc), four assists, two steals, and two blocks in 43 minutes. A grade.
It is no accident that this game started at 6 p.m., but Wembanyama is the reason San Antonio was on this stage. M. Time in Paris was amazing. He performed a variety of tasks, as he usually does, and his impressive stats included 42 points on 16-for-31 shooting (6-for-16 from beyond the arc), 18 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and one steal in 40 minutes. The Spurs should be satisfied with their performance overall because they won his minutes by seven points. They put themselves in a position to defeat a top team on the road, guarded Jalen Brunson well, and shot better than the Knicks (16 for 38 from beyond the arc, including an unexpected 3-for-3 performance from Jeremy Sochan). They lost the possession game handily, though, because they were unable to get stops when they needed to. In terms of turnover and glass, New York had significant advantages. The grade is B+.
Timberwolves versus. Mavericks’ scores.
Minnesota Timberwolves: With a three-game losing streak going into this game, there was no better time to end the cold snap than Christmas. With 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in his Christmas Day debut, Anthony Edwards was the Timberwolves’ star player. Edwards’ layup that iced the game and prevented a collapse in the second half was the game-winning basket for Minnesota.
With just six points in the first half, Minnesota dominated the Mavericks, particularly in the paint. The Mavericks were deterred from attacking the rim in the first half by the presence of Rudy Gobert, which helped the Wolves take a 28-point lead. The Mavericks rallied in the fourth quarter to win the game, but the Timberwolves tightened up in the closing minutes and secured a crucial victory. Rating: B+.
Dallas Mavericks: Doncic left the game due to a strained left calf, which was some sobering news for the Mavericks at halftime. Doncic was playing well at the time, but he was quickly sidelined for the remainder of the game after re-injuring his left leg. After suffering a calf contusion on the same leg earlier in the season, Doncic is recovering from a heel contusion. As thrilling as Dallas’ near-comeback victory was, Doncic’s injury status moving forward is the main storyline.
For a Mavericks team currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference, Doncic’s absence could last anywhere from a few weeks to a month, depending on the extent of the injury. However, the second half of this game was a fantastic illustration of how the Mavericks would perform if Doncic were to miss a significant amount of time. Without Doncic in the lineup, Dallas has a 6-3 record this season. If Kyrie Irving’s 39-point performance on Christmas Day is any guide, Dallas should be able to get by without their franchise star. Classification: C+.
The 76ers against… the Celtics’ grades.
Philadelphia 76ers: With an unexpected win over the reigning champion Celtics on Christmas, the Sixers’ mid-season comeback continued. They are now just one game away from Play-In Tournament spots after winning eight of their last 11 games to make their season record 11-17. This provided yet another look at the squad the Sixers anticipated having at the start of the season.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 33 points and 12 assists, and he was especially impressive in the fourth quarter. He is the first player in Sixers history to score 30 points and dish out 10 assists on Christmas. After battling through a few injury scares before and during the game, Joel Embiid finished with 27 points and nine rebounds. Caleb Martin, who came back to haunt the Celtics with a career-high seven 3-pointers on his way to 23 points, also gave the Sixers an unanticipated lift. Rating: A.
Boston Celtics: In this game, the Celtics appeared somewhat unprepared once more. For the first time this season and three of their last four games, they have now dropped back-to-back games. Their ability to contend for a championship shouldn’t raise any serious long-term issues, but they are currently four games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the race for the No. The Eastern Conference’s top seed.
Kristaps Porzingis left after halftime, and Jrue Holiday did not play, but this was still not the defensive effort the Celtics needed. Jayson Tatum had a fantastic game, finishing with 32 points and 15 rebounds, and they made 20 3-pointers. However, their bench did not appear. During his worst game of the season, Payton Pritchard went 0 of 8 from three-point range and finished with just four points with Sam Hauser. The grade is C.
Lakers vs. warriors’ grades.
Los Angeles Lakers: Aside from missing all but seven minutes of action, Anthony Davis did not score any points. Nevertheless, there is proof that LeBron James and shooting combine to produce a lot of victories, dating back 21 years. With Davis out with an ankle injury, give JJ Redick credit for playing a lot of centerless basketball in the second half. LeBron went to work after he spread the floor, shooting to shooters Max Christie, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, all of whom hit backbreakers as the Warriors retaliated. Making 15 3-pointers at the end of Wednesday night’s game was crucial because going into the game, the Lakers were making less than 12 3-pointers per game this season (27th in the NBA).
In relation to Reaves, the man was able to get to the rim whenever he wanted on Christmas Day, using his shot to attack the basket aggressively throughout the evening. In addition to making the game-winning layup with one second left, he finished with a triple-double of 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Absent Davis, who is anticipated to be listed as day-to-day going forward and may play in the Lakers’ upcoming game against the Kings on Saturday, he and Hachimura were essential. A grade.
Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry scored 38 points. The Warriors only went 18-for-45 from 3-point range (40 percent) and turned the ball over 12 times, out of an average of 14 this season. During the season, the Lakers average 24 free throw attempts, but they were limited to just 18. Before leaving the game for the remainder of it, Anthony Davis went seven minutes without scoring. On paper, the Warriors ought to have prevailed in this match.
Despite the Lakers’ lack of rim protection without Davis, they received very little offensive support from the supporting cast. Andrew Wiggins finished with 21 points but was mostly quiet in the second half. They also failed to contain Lakers shooters nearly the whole second half when they switched to small-ball lineups. Golden State has now lost 11 of their last 14 games, so this is a heartbreaking defeat. Dennis Schroder, who went 3 for 10 from the field in 28 minutes, was brought in to lead the offense when Curry was benched. Jonathan Kuminga was minus-17 in 27 minutes despite having good counting stats of 14 points and 6 rebounds.
