Lakers rout Mavs while Nets, Bucks win
It was the 10th Christmas victory in 15 holiday appearances by James, who equaled former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade for the most career Christmas NBA wins
Los Angeles: Anthony Davis scored 28 points while LeBron James added 22 as the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers routed Dallas 138-115 in Friday’s feature game of a record-setting Christmas slate.
James had a game-high 10 assists and seven rebounds in 31 minutes, while Davis contributed eight rebounds, five assists and two steals and reserve Montrezl Harrell had 22 points for the Lakers, who played on the holiday for a 22nd consecutive year.
James, who turns 36 on Wednesday, rose to second on the NBA’s all-time Christmas points list with 383, passing Oscar Robertson by six to pull within 12 of matching the late Kobe Bryant’s career record. It was the 10th Christmas victory in 15 holiday appearances by James, who equaled former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade for the most career Christmas NBA wins.
Vogel wants to ease the workload on James after the shortest off-season break in NBA history but James is confident he can handle whatever comes.
Slovakian star guard Luka Doncic scored 27 points for Dallas, but the Mavericks were outscored in every quarter and outrebounded 53-27.
Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving and Miami’s Duncan Robinson each matched an NBA Christmas record with seven 3-pointers, the Heat stretching their holiday win streak to eight games. Irving scored 37 points, hitting 7-of-10 3-point attempts in his return to Boston, as the Nets ripped his former Celtics teammates 123-95.
Robinson finished with 23 points, hitting 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, in leading 2020 NBA runner-up Miami over visiting New Orleans 111-98.
Also rolling to a holiday triumph were the Milwaukee Bucks, who had a game-high 31 points from Khris Middleton to beat Golden State 138-99 — the second-most lopsided blowout in NBA Christmas history — thanks to a 72-43 Bucks edge in the second half.
At Boston, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 29 in the third quarter and the Nets seized an 86-77 edge before pulling away in the fourth quarter.
Goran Dragic came off Miami’s bench to score 18 points, and Bam Adebayo added 17 for the Heat, whose NBA-best Christmas record is 11-2 despite Jimmy Butler missing the second half with right ankle stiffness.
At Milwaukee, two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Bucks, while two-time MVP Stephen Curry had a team-best 19 points.
The Los Angeles Clippers beat host Denver 121-108 despite an injury to Kawhi Leonard midway into the fourth quarter when teammate Serge Ibaka struck him in the face going for a rebound, leaving him bleeding and sprawled on the court.
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .
