NBA Christmas Recap: Clippers and Lakers Without Problems, Nets Reshaping the East

NBA Christmas games saw both the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers defeating their rivals, and also ferocious Brooklyn Nets.

Clippers Confident vs. Nuggets

The Clippers got slight revenge against the Nuggets for their 1-3 comeback in the West semis during the Orlando bubble. Tyronn Lue’s boys beat Denver on the road, 121-108, in the closing event of the day, earning their second win of the season, following the victory on the opening night against the Lakers.

The crucial part of the match was the second period, once guests reached a double-digit lead, leaving for a break with a 72-55 lead, seizing control of the activities on the floor.

Paul George again led the Clippers with 23 points, nine assists, and five boards and threes. Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, but he left the game in the fourth following Serge Ibaka’s accidental elbow blow to his head. Up until that moment, Leonard had 21 points, four steals, and seven assists.

Nicolas Batum was more than solid, with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ibaka had 15 points, Ivica Zubac 12.

Nikola Jokic was one board short of another triple-double. The Serbian scored 24 points assisting 10 times. Jamal Muray scored 23, and had five boards, but shot 9-for-20.

Dallas Helpless Against the Lakers

Lakers beat the Mavs and Luka Doncic, sending a message to all the Western rivals that they haven’t slowed down, in spite of the opening defeat vs. Clippers. The purple and gold defeated Dallas 131-115.

Anthony Davis and LeBron led the way as usual, but the Lakers’ championship duo had a lot of help from other teammates, especially the new ones. Montrezl Harrell dropped 22 points, 17 of them in the second half, and Dennis Schroder impacted the game with 18 points and six assists.

“We have the ability to where we can have four, maybe even five guys that can score in the 20s any given night,” James said, who had 22 with 10 assists and seven boards. “As long as we defend and we’re efficient, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

AD had a game-high 28 points.

Luka Doncic couldn’t do much alone, and unlike with the Lakers, he was the only one with 20+points, 27. Trey Burke and Josh Richardson had 17 apiece.

KD, Kyrie Roll Over the Celtics

The Nets scored 72 points in the second half. The Celtics 41. In the end, it was 123-95 for the guests from Brookly, whose leader Kyrie Irving dropped 37 baskets. Uncle Drew had a lot of motive to give his best against the previous team, which he did. Kyrie was 13-for-21 from the field, making seven threes in 10 attempts. The superstar point guard also contributed with 8 assists and six boards.

Kevin Durant followed his teammate with 29 points 20 in the second half. Head coach Steve Nash was really impressed with the way KD played.

“We just need to stay hungry. This means nothing,” Nash said after the game.

Jaylen Brown had 27 for the hosts, and Jayson Tatum 20, with a combined shooting of 20-for-47. Marcus Smart finished the contest with 13 points.

The two sides are in the same, Atlantic, division and we can expect to see at least three more exciting clashes this year. It would be very interesting to see Kyrie’s behavior with the fans allowed at TD. His Nets are visiting the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, while Boston has back to back contests against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday and Tuesday.