By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James went off against the Brooklyn Nets with 39 points, nine rebounds, seven assists but it wasn’t enough for the LA Lakers who suffered their fifth straight defeat, with 122-115 on the scoreboard.
LeBron’s big night, in which he passed Kobe Bryant to claim the all-time Christmas Day scoring record, was ruined by James Harden who dropped 36 points, ten boards, ten assists and Patty Mills who scored 34 and set his own record for the special day with eight three-pointers.
Both LeBron and Kobe appeared in 16 Christmas Day games, scoring a total of 422 and 395 points respectively. Oscar Robertson is in third with 377 points, and Dwyane Wade is in fourth with 314 points. Kevin Durant, who was sidelined for the Nets, has scored 299 in ten games so far.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry banked win 33 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 116-107 road win over the Phoenix Suns, as the two sides keep racing for the best record this season in the NBA.
Nemanja Bjelica had a solid outing with ten points, two boards, two assists. Chris Paul had an all-around display for Phoenix with 21 points, eight assists, six boards.
Utah and Dallas closed the night with the former getting a 120-116 win. Donovan Mitchell was the leading scorer with 33 points followed by Bojan Bogdanovic with 25.
Rudy Gobert had ten points, 11 boards while for Dallas, Kristaps Porzingis scored 27 while adding nine boards and three assists. Frank Ntilikina added 17 points.
| Eastern Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | 49 | 23 | .681 | — | 113.6 | 108.1 | 5.28 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 48 | 24 | .667 | 1.0 | 118.6 | 114.1 | 4.24 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | 26 | .639 | 3.0 | 120.1 | 114.2 | 5.57 |
| New York Knicks | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 107.0 | 104.7 | 2.13 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 113.7 | 111.4 | 2.14 |
| Miami Heat | 40 | 32 | .556 | 9.0 | 108.1 | 108.0 | -0.06 |
| Boston Celtics | 36 | 36 | .500 | 13.0 | 112.6 | 111.2 | 1.32 |
| Washington Wizards | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 116.6 | 118.5 | -1.85 |
| Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 115.3 | 115.3 | -0.13 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 39 | .458 | 16.0 | 109.5 | 111.4 | -1.94 |
| Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 18.0 | 110.7 | 111.6 | -0.94 |
| Toronto Raptors | 27 | 45 | .375 | 22.0 | 111.3 | 111.7 | -0.54 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 27.0 | 103.8 | 112.3 | -8.19 |
| Orlando Magic | 21 | 51 | .292 | 28.0 | 104.0 | 113.3 | -9.02 |
| Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 29.0 | 106.6 | 111.1 | -4.38 |
| Western Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Jazz | 52 | 20 | .722 | — | 116.4 | 107.2 | 8.97 |
| Phoenix Suns | 51 | 21 | .708 | 1.0 | 115.3 | 109.5 | 5.67 |
| Denver Nuggets | 47 | 25 | .653 | 5.0 | 115.1 | 110.1 | 4.82 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 25 | .653 | 5.0 | 114.0 | 107.8 | 6.02 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 112.4 | 110.2 | 2.26 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 116.1 | 114.3 | 1.81 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 42 | 30 | .583 | 10.0 | 109.5 | 106.8 | 2.77 |
| Golden State Warriors | 39 | 33 | .542 | 13.0 | 113.7 | 112.7 | 1.10 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 38 | 34 | .528 | 14.0 | 113.3 | 112.3 | 1.07 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 33 | 39 | .458 | 19.0 | 111.1 | 112.8 | -1.58 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.0 | 114.6 | 114.9 | -0.20 |
| Sacramento Kings | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.0 | 113.7 | 117.4 | -3.45 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 23 | 49 | .319 | 29.0 | 112.1 | 117.7 | -5.25 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 22 | 50 | .306 | 30.0 | 105.0 | 115.6 | -10.13 |
| Houston Rockets | 17 | 55 | .236 | 35.0 | 108.8 | 116.7 | -7.50 |