The Lakers-Warriors wasn’t a particularly exciting game…until the final minutes

Austin Reaves drove past Andrew Wiggins and hit a layup with a second left as the Lakers beat the Warriors 115-113 at Chase Center.

It was mostly back-and-forth, but the Lakers went on a 7-0 run to take a 104-94 lead with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry forced Golden State back with consecutive 3s, tying the game at 113, while the Lakers completely fell asleep defensively on the second 3 with 8 seconds left. In total, Curry scored eight points in the final 26 seconds of the game.

That set up the big moment for Reaves, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who were 4.5-point underdogs at BetMGM.

Curry led the Warriors with 38 points and eight 3-pointers, while Andrew Wiggins added 21 points.

Freshman Dennis Schröder continued to struggle, shooting 3 of 10 from the floor for 11 points, but he had five assists and did some good things on defense.

LeBron James was quiet down the stretch, but he became the first player in NBA history to surpass the 500 career point mark on Christmas Day, finishing Wednesday night’s game with 31 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 Steals ended.

Anthony Davis injured his ankle, played seven minutes and did not return for the Lakers.

The Suns beat the Nuggets expertly

Well, not every Christmas game can be a blast.

In the final game of the evening, the host Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets 110-100.

Denver struggled from 3-point range, shooting 8 of 29 (26.7%) and had 16 turnovers. Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets, but it wasn’t his usual all-time performance as he finished the game with 25 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Jamal Murray continued to be anything but great, shooting 4 of 10 for 13 points with six assists and four turnovers. Entering the contest, Murray was averaging 19.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds. Denver (16-12) needs more of him as a max player if it wants to be anything more than mediocre.

Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant each had 27 points for the Suns (15-14), but Durant was far from efficient, needing 26 shots to reach his point total. Durant forced the action and went to the free throw line nine times, but he made a lot of contested mid-range shots and shot 0 of 5 from 3.

The 76ers present a Christmas surprise

The Boston Celtics had a rough day at the office on Christmas Day.

The Celtics recorded 12 turnovers compared to the 76ers’ six as Philadelphia won 118-114 at TD Garden

Despite outrebounding Philadelphia 51-39 and shooting 40.8% (20 of 49) from three, Boston only got to the free throw line 13 times, making eight, and struggled to contain Tyrese Maxey, who was 12-33 completed. of 23 shots and had 12 assists and three steals.

Joel Embiid had 27 points (8 of 15 shooting) and nine rebounds in 30 minutes, and Caleb Martin had 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting (7 of 9 from 3) for the 76ers, the 10.5-point underdogs at BetMGM .

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for eight turnovers as the Celtics simply couldn’t find their rhythm and the dynamic duo didn’t make much of an impact for long stretches. The pair combined for 55 points, 22 rebounds and eight assists, but the contributions of Jrue Holiday, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury, were definitely missing.

The Celtics went on an 11-0 run over a two-minute period that cut the 76ers’ lead to 108-105 with 2:25 left after some sloppy play from Philadelphia. But the 76ers held on and scored the game with their free throws.

Wemby puts on a show

Before the opening game on Christmas Day there was talk of Victor Wembanyama conquering Manhattan.

And the sophomore sensation was certainly successful.

Wembanyama scored 42 points, nearly breaking the record of 45 points set by rookie Wilt Chamberlain in his Christmas Day debut in 1959, but the Knicks held on and won 117-114 on Wednesday.

Mikal Bridges had his best game of the season, scoring 41 points on 17 of 25 shooting and six three-pointers to pace the Knicks, and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 41 points.

Wembanyama added 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for San Antonio.

The Knicks, who were 9.5-point favorites at BetMGM, improved to 20-10 while San Antonio fell to 15-15.

Timberwolves lead Mavericks

Well, not every game can be great.

After Victor Wembanyama put on a show, Luka Dončić strained his left calf in the second quarter and did not return as the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 105-99 win.

The Mavs expect Dončić to miss a lot of time.

The Timberwolves were in control throughout, but took their foot off the gas late as the Mavericks outscored them 31-15 in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Mavs fell short as Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle combined for 49 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists.

Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 39 points on 14 of 27 shooting (five three-pointers), and Dončić had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in his exit.

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