NBA Starting 5, Dec. 24: Luka Magic, LeBron's 40, Top #NBAXMas Photos
One thing we love?
Entire days of hoops – like the one we had yesterday, and the one coming tomorrow.
Another thing? Notes from you. Heading into #NBAXMas, what are your favorite NBA on Christmas Day memories? Tap here to let us know – we’ll share our faves.
Now, let’s catch you up on Saturday’s 13 games and 12 hours of hoops – with a couple familiar faces starting to heat up in the East & West.
THE LINEUP
- Sunday’s must-see
- 13 games in 2 minutes
- The #NBAXmas cookbook
- #NBAXMas photos since 2010
- #NBAXMas social look-back
️ No Games Today: But we’ll be back with tomorrow, for …
5 Games On #NBAXMas: Knicks-Bucks tips things off at noon ET on ESPN, followed by Warriors-Nuggets (2:30, ABC/ESPN), Celtics-Lakers (5 ET, ABC/ESPN), 76ers-Heat (8ET , ESPN) and Mavs-Suns (10:30 ET, ESPN). Tap for 12 stars to watch
☑️ All-Star Voting: Monday marks the year’s first 3-for-1 voting day in All-Star Voting presented by AT&T, but every vote you cast with your NBA ID gets you another chance to win a trip to All-Star (US & Canada only)
1. SUNDAY MORNING MUST-SEE
Top Stories
- Bron Drops 40: LeBron James scored 40 for the 75th time in his career (!!) to help the Lakers end their four-game losing streak
- Big Day For Duos: Desmond Bane and Ja Morant combined for 67, Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson for 60, Klay and Steph for 55, all in wins
- More Luka Magic: Doncic put up a monster 39-point, 12-board, 10-assist triple-double, the 36th trip-dub of his career with 30+ points – moving him past James Harden into fourth all time
- They’re Heating Up: The Bucks extended their win streak to seven, their longest of the year, while the Warriors (five straight) and Nuggets (four) tied their season-highs. All three teams play on NBA on Christmas Day
- Rising Stars Go Off: Alperen Sengun and Paolo Banchero went off for two of the best performances of their young careers, as the Rockets took down the Pelicans and Magic dropped the Pacers
Saturday's Top 10 Plays
Check out the top plays from across the NBA!
Top Plays
- Jayson Tatum, GOODNESS
- Jalen Brunson raced up the court, dribbled past two defenders, heaved an off-balance trey and fell into the crowd … just as the ball splashed through the net to beat the halftime buzzer
- Hilarious (and effective?) moment from Bogdan Bogdanovic, who gets it to go by doing less
- Luka went off in the game itself, but one of his best buckets of the day (year?) came in shootaround
- He also tossed this pass behind his head that’s just completely unbelievable
- This Hawks sequence, from the Onyeka Okongwu block to the Trae falling bucket on the far side, is just pure energy
- Max Strus had himself a night, and punctuated it with this poster
- Ish Smith went through the legs to Brandon Miller in transition, setting up a huge slam
Top Moments
- An absolutely ice-cold half-court bucket and celebration from a Pacers fan, who just won $25,000
- Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. pulled up in LA, along with teammate Eduardo Camavinga, and the pair met up with Paul George & James Harden postgame
- A Blazers fan with a sign that said ‘All I want for X-Mas: hug from Scoot’ had a wish granted
- Giannis gave a fan his shoes after the Bucks’ win at MSG
2. SATURDAY’S 13 GAMES IN UNDER 2 MINUTES
Bucks 130, Knicks 111: Two days before the two teams meet on Christmas, the Bucks rattled off their NBA-best seventh straight win behind Giannis’ 28-7-7
Celtics 148, Clippers 108: Playing in the same arena where the C’s will face the Lakers on Christmas, Boston went off, going for a season-high 25 treys – while Derrick White became the fourth guard in NBA history to have 3+ blocks in four straight games. Walk off with Jayson Tatum postgame
Nuggets 102, Hornets 95: Denver held Charlotte without a field goal for 11 minutes in the third quarter, then fought off a late Hornets comeback. “That’s one of the more impressive runs that I can remember in my nine years in Denver,” said Denver coach Michael Malone.
Magic 117, Pacers 110: Banchero went for 34 pts – third most of his career – to help Orlando hold off Tyrese Haliburton’s 29-point, 15-ast night
Rockets 106, Pelicans 104: Sengun scored 25 of his 37 points in the second half, the most he’s ever had in a half, to go with 11 rebounds & six assists. Here’s his full game. Also, Zion blocked a shot with the back of his forearm
Grizzlies 125, Hawks 119: Bane and Morant’s combined 67 gave Memphis its first three-game win streak of the year, while Atlanta’s Trae Young extended his own 30-point, 10-ast streak to seven – joining Oscar Robertson (1964-65) as the only two to ever do it
Nets 126, Pistons 115: Mikal Bridges (29 pts) led seven Nets in double-figures, snapping Brooklyn’s five-game losing streak, while the Pistons tied the NBA record for most consecutive losses in a season (26)
Jazz 126, Raptors 119: Clarkson got 16 of his 30 in the fourth after missing six games for Utah, which won its second straight game on the road to improve its record to 4-13 away from home
⚔ Cavs 109, Bulls 95: Max Strus led an injury-depleted Cavaliers team with 26 points and seven assists, as Cleveland picked up its fourth win in its last five
Lakers 129, Thunder 120: Anthony Davis added 26 pts, 11 reb & 7 ast to LeBron’s 40, giving LA the boost it needed to overcome SGA’s 34. Eleven of Bron’s 40-point games have come after the age of 35, one shy of Michael Jordan’s mark for most 40-point games over 35
Mavericks 144, Spurs 119: Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dante Exum both dropped 20+, while Luka’s triple-double gave him his sixth of the season and 62nd of his career
Warriors 126, Blazers 106: Golden State’s back above .500 for the first time since Nov. 12, thanks in large part to Klay Thompson catching fire: he’s now scored 20 points in his last five games, and put up 11 straight in the third
Wolves 110, Kings 98: The second 30+ point, 10+ assist game of Anthony Edwards’ career (he finished with 34 & 10) sent the Timberwolves to 22-6, tied with the Celtics for best in the NBA
3. CHRISTMAS ROUNDUP & LAST-MINUTE MEAL PREP FROM ALL 30 TEAMS
The holidays can be a lot.
And if you’re cooking? Good luck! In case you need some last-minute inspo for what should go on the table – or next to you on the couch, or wherever you’re sneaking highlights on your phone – the brand-new #NBAXMas Cookbook has got ya.
Your culinary companion: All 30 NBA teams were challenged to showcase a recipe that best represents their region’s most iconic culinary dish. They came through.
Tap for recipes from the 10 teams playing on Christmas – including a brat inspired by Giannis, who, as it turns out, is inspired by brats.
What else is going on around the league?
- The NBA Cares Season of Giving is in full swing, with teams & players chipping in all around the league
- ‘A Gift.‘ Listen to KD talk about growing up watching hoops on Christmas
- LeBron, too
- NBA YouTube dropped the full classic game of T-Mac & LeBron’s Christmas duel in James’ rookie season, with Steph & CP3 in 2013 coming today. There’s (much) more where that came from in the App
- Posters of Christmas Past: Peep a few of the best #NBAXmas highlights from before 2000
- Bobby Portis proves he’s up on his Bucks #NBAXMas trivia
- The Bulls’ favorite holiday movie? The one set in Chicago
4. THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE #NBAXMAS PICS SINCE 2010
2011: Rajon Rondo in NYC traffic
2010: D-Rose in the Garden
2011: Kobe finds a way
2011: A new banner in Dallas, hung by the chimney with care
2014: Back in Cleveland, LeBron dishes against the Heat
2018: Lillard channels ‘A Christmas Story’ in his signature shoes
2021: Gobert says no
2019: Kendrick Perkins shows up in style
2021: The official 75 basketball, glistening
2019: The Raptor
2013: D-Wade with eyes in the back of his head
5. LOOK-BACK: #NBAXMAS ON SOCIAL SINCE 2016
With every new year of Christmas Day games, social media can act like a time capsule — keeping the moments, the stories and, of course, the tunnel fits alive.
As we get ready for a new chapter, spin back the last seven years of Christmas @NBA social content for a few of our most memorable posts that popped.
- Kyrie Wins It For Cleveland, 2016: In one of the great Christmas endings of all-time, Kyrie came through in the clutch to win a Finals rematch for Cleveland … six months after sinking the game-winner in Game 7
- Porzingis & Embiid Duel, 2017: In Embiid’s second season and KP’s third, the two bigs put on a show in MSG
- Lance’s Air Guitar, 2018: Born Ready beat the buzzer then broke out a tasty lick for the Lakers in one of Christmas’s most GIFable moments
- Iconic Looks, 2019: LeBron, AD, Kawhi, PG & more show up real clean (with a few bags)
- Bron Climbs Charts, 2020: King James tied his former teammate Dwyane Wade for the most Christmas Day wins, with 10, as he led the defending champs to the W
- Steph’s Scorching Night, 2021: Coming off two tough years, in which the Dubs missed the Playoffs twice, Curry put on a show on Christmas – with Golden State picking up a win over Phoenix on their road to the 2022 crown
- AARON. GORDON. 2022: It’s been a year since AG took flight on Christmas. And this dunk still doesn’t seem real
