LeBron James and Steph Curry delivered a Christmas Day thriller as 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 game, but Austin Reaves answered with a game-winning layup with just 1.1 seconds remaining.
The two iconic players, both future Hall of Famers, exchanged 3-pointers in a dramatic finish, with James scoring 31 points and adding 10 assists, all while playing without teammate Anthony Davis, who left the game in the first quarter due to an ankle injury.
Reaves capped off his triple-double performance with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, securing the Lakers' hard-fought victory.
Curry’s 38 points included 8-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc, while Andrew Wiggins added 21 points and 12 rebounds, but Golden State fell to its 11th loss in 14 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 said.
"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 playing in a record 19th Christmas Day game and took the occasion to take a gentle swipe at the NFL’s encroachment on the day.
"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day," he said.
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 points with 18 rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs, but Bridges took the glory with a brilliant 15-point fourth-quarter display, finishing with a season-high 41 points and the win.
The 20-year-old, who stands 7-foot-3, shot 16-of-31 from the field and made six of 16 3-point attempts. While Bridges earned the applause from the home crowd, he was quick to praise 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," said Bridges.
The 28-year-old Bridges, who was traded from the Brooklyn Nets in July, shot 17-of-25 from the field and was 6-for-9 from beyond the arc as his team improved to 20-10.
San Antonio was just a point behind with two minutes remaining before Bridges made back-to-back jumpers to open up a five-point lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points) and Jalen Brunson (20 points, 9 assists) were crucial for the Knicks in the win.
Defending champions the Boston Celtics (22-8) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season when they were upset at home by the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-114.
Injury-prone 76ers star Joel Embiid hurt his ankle in a pregame fall but was able to start and showed his importance with 27 points, nine rebounds, and the game-clinching free throws at the end to seal the win for 11-17 Philadelphia.
Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points and added 12 assists, with his 13 points in the fourth quarter crucial as Philadelphia, which had led by 16 at the break, recovered from Boston’s third-quarter rally.
Jayson Tatum topped scored for the Celtics with 32 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds.
It was far from a Merry Christmas for the Dallas Mavericks, who lost their Slovenian star Luka Doncic to a calf injury in the second quarter of their 105-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals.
Doncic, who had scored 14 points, limped out of the game and did not return. The Mavericks did manage a brave comeback attempt without him, before falling short.
Anthony Edwards put up 26 points for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves led 57-40 at halftime and extended that advantage to 28 points before Dallas, led by Kyrie Irving’s 39 points, started to work its way back into the contest.
It was close at the end, but Irving missed a 3-point shot that would have given Dallas the lead in the last minute, and a two-foot shot from Edwards and a pair of free throws from Julius Randle ensured the win.
