The NBA's Best Clash On Christmas Day

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There is no better feeling than waking up on Christmas morning and knowing you're about to watch half-a-day's worth of NBA basketball. If you weren't able to do that yesterday because you had to spend time with your "family" or whatever, fear not! We're here to catch you up on everything you missed from #ThisLeague, #ThisWeekend. Let's go!

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Christmas Day Recap: Who showed out during the NBA's yearly Christmas marathon?

Unsung Heroes: This 76ers' offseason acquisition has been more important than anyone imagined.

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Highlights From Friday

Friday's highlights, to the tune of "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel:

Brooklyn is still scorching hot, DeMar hit a clutch shot, Luka massive double-double, Griz thrash Phoenix, Suns in trouble? Lebron fell and lost a shoe, Kuz balled out with 32, Tyrese Haliburton hooped (43 points), Harden's back to throwing 'oops (and lots of other good passes. Career-high 21 assists for him on Friday. Philly is nearing full strength and looking scary.) Sorry, kind of lost the rhythm at the end there.

Saturday

So, are we supposed to like... Go outside? It's cold.

Christmas Day Games

Stars shine in early game as Harden, Embiid lead Sixers past Randle & Knicks, 119-112

Enjoyers of Basketball lighting it up on Christmas morning? What a beautiful sight to see. Georges Niang was electric in the fourth quarter, hitting four threes to help Philly (20-12) surge-- and stay-- in front of the Knicks (18-16) who led most of the game before the final frame. Joel Embiid's 35 points and James Harden's double-double (29 & 13) kept Philly in it along the way. Santa will be safe to walk around Philadelphia today.

Box Score

Mavericks use enormous third quarter to beat Lakers, 124-115

After the Lakers (13-20) held Luka and Co. to just 43 points in the first half, the Mavs (18-16) responded with 51 points. In. The. Third. Quarter. It was a clinic. A masterclass. A shootaround. Another word like that. Luka Doncic got his, per usual (and pulled up in something... Classic?) but the contributions of Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway, Jr. who combined for 56, were just as big. Also, Lebron James has played in seventeen Christmas Day games. What were you doing seventeen years ago? On second thought, that's none of our business.

Box Score

Celtics put together a phenomenal second half, upend Bucks 139-118

Jayson Tatum isn't just a bad man. He's one of the worst men. Wait, that sounded like an insult. Jayson Tatum is a beast. Evidence presented here:

Milwaukee (22-11) didn't even play particularly poorly in this game; they shot over 50% and out-rebounded the Celtics. But Boston (24-10) looks like a tank when they're all clicking, and in the second half, they were clicking. The C's outscored the Bucks 77-57 after intermission. 77! Against a top five defense in the league. Yeesh.

Box Score

Golden State beats Memphis 123-109 in latest installment of the league's strangest rivalry

We've said this all along; the Warriors (16-18) will be fine without Steph Curry as long as they have Ty Jerome (who scored 14 points on 6-9 shooting). Don't go look, though. Just trust us. This game featured six technicals, one ejection-- of Jordan Poole, who scored 32 before he was booted-- and one taunting call that Warrior fans seemed to be quite okay with. Ja Morant's big day (36 points, eight assists) wasn't enough for Memphis (20-12).

Box Score

Nuggets beat Suns 128-125 in OT, chaos ensues

HOW'S THAT FOR A NIGHTCAP? If you tapped out before the end of this game, sorry. If you looked like this about six minutes into the third quarter, when Phoenix (19-15) looked destined to pull away from Denver (21-11), so did we. But this is why we stay up. For the posters, the Nikola Jokic 41-15-15 statlines, and the Landry Shamet 30-pieces. The last half-hour of this game was probably how Tom Cruise felt when he jumped off that cliff on a motorcycle while filming Mission Impossible 7 last week. How many different stats from the box score make you go "HUH?" Spoiler alert, it's a lot. If you only watch one highlight from this game, make sure it's Aaron Gordon's dunk. We understand if you immediately want to watch it again. And again. And again.

Unsung Heroes

Did any offseason acquisition go more under the radar than Philadelphia's draft night deal to snag De'Anthony Melton from the Grizzlies? The USC product is posting career-highs in points (12.1), rebounds (4.7), assists (3.2), and steals (2.1) in his first year with Philly. In fact, his 2.1 steals per game rank second in the NBA, behind only Toronto's OG Anunoby.

While Melton was brought on to be a high-level backup ball handler and guard stopper, he was forced into a starting role when both Tyrese Maxey and James Harden fell victim to injury. Well, Melton has thrived in the starting role, enough to at least warrant consideration that he should stay in Doc Rivers' starting lineup even when Maxey does finally return. De'Anthony Melton has been a blessing for this Sixers team.

Latest Basketball News

Mavericks Unveil Dirk Nowitzki Statue: Legend.

Sabonis Needs Further Tests: Kings center Domantas Sabonis suffered a hand injury on Friday against Washington, and will undergo more tests to determine whether or not he will be required to miss time. Sabonis has been playing like an All-Star recently, so let's hope for good news on the injury front.

Good Reads

Ranking the most iconic 50-point scoring performances at Madison Square Garden - Mat Issa (SB Nation)

An OK Basketball Player Hopes To Be A Great NBA Team Owner - Tania Ganguli & Sopan Deb (New York Times)

What We're Enjoying

Great Art Explained: There's simply no better way to get cultured in 15 minutes than Great Art Explained. This Youtube channel gives the background, creative process, and creation of the world's most famous art pieces.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: Whodoesn't love a whodunnit? Glass Onion--the spiritual sequel to 2019's Knives Out-- is just as thrilling and unexpected as its predecessor. If you're into fun murder mysteries, get to Netflix ASAP.

Signing Off

Let's own this week, folks. Or at least rent it. Sometimes that's all we can do. Try to learn something new today, no matter how silly it may be. Talk soon!

-Quinn Everts

Trivia Answer: The longest road winning streak of all time? That would be the 1972 Lakers! Sixteen straight wins away from L.A.

Trivia Question: Which NBA player holds the record for most points scored in a single game on Christmas, with 60?