Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jayson Tatum added 25 points and the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time in Christmas Day meetings 126-115 on Monday. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and Derrick White chipped in with 18 points and 11 assists. All five starters had at least 18 points for the Celtics, who have won three straight and 12 of their past 14. Anthony Davis scored a game-high 40 points with 13 rebounds, LeBron James had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Lakers have dropped six of eight since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Luka Doncic scored 50 points to eclipse 10,000 for his career and had 14 assists, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 win over the Phoenix Suns. Doncic capped a Christmas Day full of NBA games with a stellar performance, hitting 8 of 16 from 3 and all 12 of his free throws. He eclipsed 10,000 career points in the first quarter to reach the milestone in 358 career games, seventh fastest in NBA history. Phoenix’s Grayson Allen scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter to help the Suns rally from a 15-point deficit. Chimezie Metu added 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Jamal Murray scored 28 points, Nikola Jokic overcame an off shooting day by going 18 of 18 from the free-throw line and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to five games by holding off the Golden State Warriors 120-114 on Monday. Jokic finished with 26 points despite going 4 of 12 from the floor. He set a career-high with his 18 made free throws. Jokic also had 14 rebounds and eight assists. Andrew Wiggins gave the Warriors a boost off the bench by scoring 22 points as he returned to the floor after missing two games with an illness. Stephen Curry had 18 points.
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the New York Knicks snapped Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak, ending their lengthy skid against the Bucks with a 129-122 victory. The Knicks had dropped nine straight meetings, including a 130-111 loss on Saturday in the opener of this two-game series. The Bucks had handled New York easily twice while rolling through their December schedule, but they haven’t solved Brunson all season. The point guard got plenty of help from his teammates Monday. Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a poor game Saturday with 21 points and Immanuel Quickley came off the bench for 20 points.
Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 31 points and got his first double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and the Miami Heat held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 on Monday night. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 on Christmas, the best record in NBA history for head coaches on the holiday. Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for the Heat. Jaquez also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which held a 56-36 edge on the boards. Reigning MVP and two-time defending scoring champion Joel Embiid missed the game for Philadelphia because of an ankle sprain. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers.