LOS ANGELES – Brooklyn Nets squandered a 23-point edge before pulling off a 122-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Christmas Day at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
After seeing their 107-84 lead turned to a 115-all score with under a minute left, Nicholas Claxton completed a three-point play dunk from a lob pass by James Harden to give the Nets a 118-115 edge.
Following a miss by Lakers’ LeBron James, Harden secured the victory for Brooklyn by converting four free throws for a 122-115 lead with 10.7 seconds remaining.
Harden returned from health and safety protocols with triple-double 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while Patty Mills tied his career-high 34 points, including eight triples for the Nets.
Bruce Brown and DeAndre Bembry also came back from COVID-19 protocols with 16 and 15 points, respectively, as the Nets stayed on top in the Eastern Conference with 22-9 win-loss slate.
Brooklyn remained shorthanded with several players led by Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and rookies Cameron Thomas being monitored for NBA’s COVID-19 protocols.
James finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony had 20 and 17, respectively, as the Lakers dropped to 16-18.
Otto Porter Jr. came up with clutch conversions as the Golden State Warriors prevailed over Phoenix Suns, 116-107, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arena.
Clinging to a 109-107 lead, Porter widened Warriors’ lead to 111-107 with a two-pointer before unloading back-to-back triples to secure the victory for the shorthanded Golden State.
Porter finished the match with season-high 19 points, 13 coming in the fourth quarter, as Golden State seized the solo first place in the Western Conference standings with 27-6 slate.
Stephen Curry top-scored with 33 points, including five triples, Gary Payton II, rookie Jonathan Kuminga and Nemanja Bjelica had 14, 12 and 10, respectively, for the Warriors.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 122 — Harden 36, Mills 34, Brown 16, Bembry 15, Claxton 9, Johnson 8, Galloway 2, Carter 2, Millsap 0, Griffin 0.
LOS ANGELES 115 — James 39, Monk 20, Anthony 17, Horton-Tucker 14, Westbrook 13, Johnson 7, Ellington 3, Howard 2, Collison 0.
Quarterscores: 38-23, 66-62, 102-82, 122-115./PN
