Christmas Day is the NBA. The NFL has Thanksgiving, the NBA has Christmas.
And this year’s five-game slate hardly disappointed. First The John Wall-led Wizards opened by thrashing the Knicks and further reminding New York fans that their team is not good — not even a little.
Then Russell Westbrook put on a show in the Thunder’s win over the Spurs in San Antonio.
Then a vintage Dwyane Wade dropped 31 to spoil LeBron James’ Miami homecoming — which included video tributes for James and then almost everyone else on the floor.
Then came the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers vs. Bulls, which was of interest in large part because Derrick Rose is playing scary good again, but also because Nick Young continues to provide ridiculous comments.
And then, to finish it all off, the Clippers hosted the Warriors, a West Coast battle featuring two of (or maybe just the) league’s best point guards, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry.
If you missed any of the games: A) What were you thinking?, B) Relax, we’re here for you. Here were some of the high points (and low points) from each game.
John Wall: 24 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and this:
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Quincy Acy tried to beat up Wall and a fight broke out. Cole Aldrich, however, wanted no part.
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Russell Westbrook: 34 points, 11 assists, five steals, five rebounds
Russell Westbrook drives, floats in the air for a little bit, and then scores!
— NBA (@NBA)
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James and Wade had a moment …
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… then Wade of 2008 made a brief comeback …
… then Chris “Birdman” Andersen and Dion Waiters put in work on the defensive end:
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But LeBron did have 30 points, four rebounds and eight assists, including:
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Pau Gasol put up 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against his former team … whose season can be summed up nicely with this play:
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Also: Derrick Rose (20 points, six assists) is scary good again:
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Spencer Hawes wore his finest suit for the game.
“: . has the holiday spirit ” Mr. Sager do you approve? Merry Christmas!
— Spencer Hawes (@spencerhawes00)
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This is what happens when two of the game’s greatest point guards go at it:
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Wait for Steve Ballmer’s reaction. So much better than the dunk.
Oof.
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Jamal Crawford gets three of his game-high 24 points:
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