Epic battle between LeBron James and Stephen Curry on NBA ‘Christmas Day’

The victory fell to the Los Angeles side (113-115) despite playing away from home, but the particular duel between two of the most relevant figures in the NBA in recent years went to the tireless Curry. The Warriors’ leader added 38 points, becoming the game’s highest scorer, and most of them came from beyond the three-point line. The one from Ohio scored no less than eight, tying the NBA record for a Christmas game.

However, a winning layup with one second left by Austin Reaves It allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to overcome Anthony Davis’ injury and beat the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

Despite losing Davis for good to a sprained left ankle in the eighth minute of the game, the Lakers held the lead for nearly the final three quarters, leading to a fourth win in five games.

The lead was 109-100 when James set up Max Christie on a basket with 1:30 left before Stephen Curry almost single-handedly stole the show. After Jonathan Kuminga dunked the ball and Dennis Schroder hit a 3-pointer to bring the Warriors within reach, Curry scored a layup before hitting a pair of improbable 3-pointers in the final 12.2 seconds, including a long shot that tied the game at 7 .6 seconds left.

The Lakers then tried to pass the ball to James, but opted for Reaves when the Warriors guarded the Los Angeles star. Reaves didn’t hesitate, taking the ball directly to the rim for a contested layup that produced the game-winning points. Reaves filled in for Davis, hitting four 3-pointers en route to 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds and a team-high 10 assists. The triple-double was the third of his career, the first this season.

The all-time leading scorer in NBA Christmas games, LeBron Jamesmade 12 of his 22 shots and also found time to make 10 assists and add two steals, which was a game-high.

Rui Hachimura contributed 18 points, Christie with 16 and Dalton Knecht with 13 for the Lakers, who appeared on the NBA’s Christmas menu for the 26th consecutive season.

On the part of the locals Curry won his scoring duel with James thanks to his 38 pointsthe personal best of the meeting. Andrew Wiggins backed up his leader with 21 points for the Warriors, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games.

Kuminga finished with 14 points, while Schroder and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 11 each for Golden State. Draymond Green had 10 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and three points.

Irving and Wembanyama, great games without a prize

In the rest of the outstanding games of the Christmas day, the brilliant performance of two basketball wizards such as the veteran Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks) and the emerging Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) were left without the prize of victory in two defeats against New York Knicks (117-114) and Minnesota Timberwolves (99-105). One with seven games scoring more than 20 points on December 25, all of them memorable performances like the one he left this time at the American Airlines Center (Dallas) with 39 points. Another in his first appearance in the traditional Christmas event, at 20 years old, but posting 42 points and 18 rebounds, also in defeat.

Irving brought out his magic against Wolves who managed a lead of 28 points, 22 at the beginning of the last quarter, but ended up asking for time. The Mavericks’ comeback was without Luka Doncic, the local star injured at the end of the second quarter, without finishing in the last minute at 99-101.

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle avoided another setback in the bad dynamics of the Minnesota team, now confident of changing that inertia with the rematch of last year’s Western Conference final. All in all, the debacle surrounded the Wolves with Irving who in the last quarter scored more than the entire rival team, without culminating in a definitive triple with the response followed by Edwards.

Meanwhile, in the duel that opened the day on December 25, the focus was on the ‘feeling Wembanyama‘. The Frenchman, in his first match at Christmas, responded to the expectation with a legendary performancehis great debut at Madison Square Garden in New York with 42 points and 18 rebounds, his scoring record.

However, Karl-Anthony Towns woke up in the third quarter and Mikal Bridges came into a boil to finish with 41 points, decisive in the last plays such as the Knicks’ offensive rebound, which added their fifth straight victory.