All I want for Christmas is…

To be able to pull off a move like this once.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Dec. 24, 2024

East Streaks: Cavs match best 30-game start ever, while Pacers & Knicks stay hot

To The Max: Tyrese Maxey takes over for Philly, and shorthanded Magic rally again

Cup Finalists Rolling: OKC (8 straight) and Milwaukee (5 of last 6) keep winning

West Roundup: Nuggets, Mavericks and Rockets dominate, Clippers clutch late

East Roundup: Pistons’ best start in 6 years; Hawks & Heat stay tight in standings

BUT FIRST … ⏰
One more sleep until NBA Christmas…

Star-Studded NBA On Christmas Day: Get ready to unwrap a five-game #NBAXmas slate featuring some of the game’s brightest stars on ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN+ and Disney+.

From Wemby vs. KAT (Spurs at Knicks, 12 ET) to Ant vs. Luka (Wolves at Mavs, 2:30 ET), Embiid vs. Tatum (Sixers at Celtics, 5 ET), LeBron vs. Steph (Lakers at Warriors, 8 ET) and Joker vs. KD (Nuggets at Suns, 10:30 ET), we’ve got 13 straight hours of hoops to celebrate.

Dunk The Halls: The Knicks and Spurs aren’t just playing inside MSG, the opening game of Christmas Day will be part of the first-ever live animated presentation of an NBA game from “Main Street USA” at Disney World featuring Mickey Mouse and Friends (ESPN2, ESPN+ & Disney+).

Countdown To Christmas Day (9 a.m. ET, NBA App): Relive some NBA on Christmas Day classic games as we get you ready for a full slate of NBA Xmas action on Wednesday.

Play #NBAXmas Trivia: How deep is your NBA on Christmas Day knowledge? Test your skills to get you ready for Wednesday’s games.

1. CAVS, PACERS, KNICKS EXTEND WIN STREAKS IN THE EAST

Cavs 124, Jazz 113: Darius Garland (23 pts, 8 ast) led four Cleveland starters with 20+ points – joined by Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley with 22 apiece and Sam Merrill with 20 – as the Cavs held off the Jazz for their fifth straight win. | Recap

• Best Start Ever: The East-leading Cavs matched their best record through 30 games (26-4 in 2008-09) in franchise history
• What Happened Then? The 2008-09 Cavs won a franchise-record 66 games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals
• Home Sweet Home: The Cavs are an NBA-best 17-1 at home this season, leading the league in points (123.2), field goal percentage (50.8%), 3-point percentage (41.5%) and point differential (+14.1)
• Are You Not Entertained! During an in-game delay to fix one of the rims, Jarrett Allen kept the show going for the fans by sinking a backward halfcourt shot

Pacers 111, Warriors 105: After opening a three-game West Coast swing with wins in Phoenix and Sacramento, the Pacers pulled off the hat trick by knocking off the Warriors in the Bay on Monday.

Myles Turner (23 pts, 10 reb, 3 3PM, including this dagger) and Tyrese Haliburton (16 pts, 12 ast) both posted double-doubles in the win. | Recap

• Holiday Cheer: The Pacers head back to Indy for the holiday on a five-game win streak to get back to .500 (15-15) for the first time since Nov. 10 (5-5)
• Difference Maker: Both teams committed 11 turnovers on Monday. The Pacers turned the Warriors’ mistakes into 13 points, while allowing zero points off their own turnovers

Knicks 139, Raptors 125: Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby combined for 62 points on 24-of-30 shooting – dropping 31 points apiece – to lead the Knicks to their fourth straight win. | Recap

Two-Quarter Takeover: New York outscored Toronto 81-54 over the 2nd and 3rd quarters – as the Knicks posted back-to-back 40+ point quarters for the first time since 1988.

2. MAXEY TAKES OVER LATE IN PHILLY, MAGIC RALLY PAST CELTICS

Sixers 111, Spurs 106: The final six minutes of this game saw six lead changes, one tie and one Tyrese Maxey takeover as the All-Star guard scored 12 of his game-high 32 points down the stretch to help the Sixers secure the win. | Recap | Watch The Final 6:06

• Clutch Leader: Maxey – who leads the NBA in clutch scoring (5.9 ppg) – scored eight of Philly’s last 11 points, including a steal-and-slam to put the Sixers up for good with 59 seconds left and a dagger 3 to ice the game 28 seconds later
• Embiid Ejected: Philly’s fifth game with Joel Embiid, Maxey and Paul George in the starting lineup together was cut short after Embiid picked up two technicals in the 2nd quarter
• Sixers Turnaround: Philly has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games after a 3-14 start to the season to enter Christmas at 10-17

• Wemby Shows Out: Victor Wembanyama poured in 26 points, nine rebounds, six 3s and eight blocks – his second straight game with at least eight rejections
• How Rare Is That? The last player with back-to-back games with eight or more blocks was Anthony Davis in 2013. The only other Spur to do it? David Robinson had three streaks, the last in 1991

Magic 108, Celtics 104: With Paolo Banchero (oblique), Franz Wagner (oblique) and Moritz Wagner (ACL) all out, Jalen Suggs is the only active Magic player averaging 10+ points this season.

Suggs (16 pts, 5 ast, 2 blk) was one of five Magic players to score in double figures on Monday as the Magic overcame a 15-point halftime deficit, outscoring the defending champs 65-46 in the 2nd half. | Recap

• Déjà Vu: Orlando’s 15-point comeback over Boston followed their 25-point comeback over Miami on Saturday – the first time Orlando has had back-to-back 15+ point comeback wins since Feb. 2014
• Stepping Up: In his first career start, Trevelin Queen matched his career-high with 17 points while hitting three 3s
• Rookie Dagger: Tristan da Silva hit a career-best four 3s, none bigger than his corner 3 to put the Magic up by four with 9.5 seconds left
• No Tatum, No 3s: Boston was without Jayson Tatum (illness) and hit a season-low eight 3s on 24.3% shooting in the loss

3. EMIRATES NBA CUP CHAMPIONSHIP FOES STAY HOT

Thunder 123, Wizards 105: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stuffed the stat sheet (41 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 3 3s) to lead the Thunder to their eighth straight win and join two pairs of all-time greats in the process. | Recap

• Franchise History: Shai scored 40+ points for the 15th time with OKC, passing Dale Ellis for third in team history behind Kevin Durant (46) and Russell Westbrook (43)
• Do-It-All Games: James Harden (three times) and Nikola Jokić (once) are the only other players to reach or beat the marks that Shai hit in Monday’s win
• From The Deep End: Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 31 points and five 3s, including one from near half-court to beat the shot clock

Bucks 112, Bulls 91: Playing their second-straight game without Giannis Antetokounmpo (back spasms) and Damian Lillard (illness), Khris Middleton and the Bucks stepped up to earn the Bucks’ fifth win in the last six regular-season games — six of seven including the NBA Cup championship. | Recap

• Back-To-Back: Middleton posted a season-high in scoring for the second straight game, following his 18 points against Washington with 21 against Chicago as he continues to work his way back from offseason ankle surgeries
• Brook & Bobby: Lopez matched Middleton’s game-high 21 points, while Portis stuffed the stat sheet (19 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast) again while starting in place of Giannis

4. WEST: NUGGETS, MAVS & ROCKETS WIN BIG, CLIPS WIN LATE

Nuggets 117, Suns 90: Behind a combined 56 points from Nikola Jokić (32 pts, 7 ast, 4 3s) and Michael Porter Jr. (24 pts, 10-12 FG), the Nuggets earned their second-largest win of the season (+27 pts) and won for the fifth time in six games to improve to 16-11. | Recap

• Joker’s 30: The Nuggets – who were without Jamal Murray (ankle) – improved 8-4 on the season when Jokić scores 30 points or more
• Suns Duo: Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 23 for the Suns, who were without Devin Booker (groin) as they dropped their third straight game
• See You Soon: The venue will change – Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, Footprint Center in Phoenix on Wednesday – but the teams remain the same as the Suns and Nuggets will clash again on Christmas Day

Clippers 114, Grizzlies 110: In a game that featured 13 lead changes and nine ties, it was Norman Powell and the Clippers that had the final answer as LA won for the third time in four games. | Recap | Watch The Final 3:17

• Clutch Time: After Ja Morant tied the game with 34 seconds left, Powell hit a pull-up jumper from 14 feet to give the Clippers the lead, then iced the game with a pair of free throws following a Memphis turnover
• Spectacular On Both Ends: Ja has made a habit of creating must-see moments and Monday was no exception, with a massive chasedown swat and a smooth 360 reverse lay in

Mavs 132, Blazers 108: Luka Dončić scored 27 points in his return from a two-game absence, Daniel Gafford scored 23 off the bench (7-of-7 FG), and Kyrie Irving added 20 – including a dazzling drive and finish – as the trio combined for 70 points to help Dallas dominate the 2nd half. | Recap

• Mavs Rolling: After opening the season 5-7, the Mavs have gone 14-3 over their last 17 games and will enter their Christmas Day matchup 19-10 and 4th in the West

Rockets 114, Hornets 101: Jabari Smith Jr. (21 pts, 11 reb) led five Rockets with 16+ points as Houston’s balanced attack overcame a combined 47 points from Miles Bridges (24, including a must-see poster dunk) and LaMelo Ball (23 pts, 5 3s) for its third straight win. | Recap

5. EAST: PISTONS’ BEST START IN 6 YEARS, HAWKS & HEAT STAY TIGHT

Pistons 117, Lakers 114: Cade Cunningham’s putback layup with 3:02 to play put the Pistons up 11 – tying their largest lead of the game – but they would not score again. The Lakers scored eight straight points down the stretch and had the ball with 3.7 ticks left.

L.A. got the ball to LeBron James, but his deep 3 to tie the game came up short as Detroit swept the two-game season series and improved to 13-17 – the Pistons’ best start through 30 games since 2018-19. | Recap

• Detroit Trio: Malik Beasley (21 pts, 5 3s), Cunningham (20 pts, 10 ast) and Jaden Ivey (18 points) combined for 59 in the win
• Triple-Double: LeBron (28 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast) recorded his eighth triple-double of the year – second only to Nikola Jokić’s 11 – and the 120th of his career

Hawks 117, Wolves 104: Trae Young had 29 points, seven assists and two one-legged runner 3s, while Garrison Mathews hit a career-high-tying seven 3s and scored a season-high 25 points to help the Hawks knock off the Wolves and snap a three-game losing streak. | Recap

• Finish How You Started: The Hawks won both the 1st and 4th quarters 35-19. Atlanta built a 19-point lead in the opening frame, which Minnesota erased in the 2nd. The Wolves then took the lead into the 4th before the Hawks rallied and slammed the door
• Instant Energy: De’Andre Hunter (19 pts, 3 3s) scored at least 15 points for the 12th straight game off the bench, the longest streak since Tyler Herro’s 16 straight in 2021-22
• Beating Yourself: Dyson Daniels recorded eight steals – the most in an NBA game this season – topping his own mark of seven (Nov. 8). Of the 10 games this season in which a player has recorded 6+ steals, Daniels has six of them

Heat 110, Nets 95: Bam Adebayo (23 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast) and Tyler Herro (17 pts, 12 reb, 9 ast) combined for 40 points to lead the Heat past the Nets to snap a three-game losing streak and get back over .500 (14-13) on the season. | Recap