Merry Christmas, basketball fans. The NBA is celebrating the holiday with a jam-packed schedule that features five intriguing matchups and 12-plus hours of basketball. The action tipped off at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks stormed back in the fourth quarter for a comeback victory over the Cavaliers. The Spurs followed that up with their third win over the reigning NBA champions Thunder in 13 days. The Thunder now have five losses on the season, three of them have come against the Spurs since Dec. 13.
The rest of the slate features star-studded matchups. Stephen Curry and the Warriors got the best of the Mavericks and No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg in the third game of the day. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are squaring off on Christmas once again as the Lakers face the Rockets. And Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets are going up against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves to close things out on Thursday night.
Odds via Caesars
CBS Sports will have live updates throughout the Christmas Day NBA slate. Follow along below for key moments throughout the day.
It wasn't the prettiest showing but the Warriors knocked off the Mavericks to extend their winning streak to three and nudge their record back over .500 at 16-15. Stephen Curry didn't have a good shooting night (he missed eight of his 10 3-pointers and finished with 23 points), but hit a big 3 to extend the Warriors' lead as Dallas was trying to make one last push.
Cooper Flagg led the way for the Mavericks with 27 points, joining LeBron James as the only teenage players in history to score at least 25 points on Christmas. Flagg, who overcame a slow start with just two points in the first quarter, made 13 of his 21 shots and added six rebounds and four assists.
Stop traffic: Anthony Davis is hurt again for the Mavericks. Davis left late in the second quarter and did not return with what the team called right groin spasms. Davis missed 14 games earlier this season with a calf strain. Trading Luka Doncic for this guy who has never been able to stay healthy continues to be maybe the dumbest move in NBA front office history.
Cooper Flagg: 19 points
Brandon Williams: 19 points
Stephen Curry: 18 points
With a cutting layup in the third quarter, Stephen Curry has become the 22nd player in NBA history to pass the 26K mark in career points.
Stop traffic: Anthony Davis is hurt again. Dallas' big man has been ruled out for the rest of the game with right groin spasms. Davis missed 14 games earlier this season with a calf strain.
Al Horford: 12
Moses Moody: 12
Stephen Curry: 10
Jimmy Butler: 8
Cooper Flagg: 12
Naji Marshall: 12
Brandon Williams: 8
After Dallas had closed the gap to four, the Warriors have gone on a 21-10 run with most of the damage being done in the open floor. Jimmy Butler continues his red-shot 3-point shooting season (on low volume, but still).
We've got an Al Horford sighting! One of the most invisible signings of the offseason so far, Horford, who has played in fewer than half of Golden State's games this season, has busted out for 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 on 3-pointers including one to close the quarter, as Golden State has raced out to a comfortable first-quarter lead.
The people are going to argue that this is why Anthony Davis should be traded, but even with Davis out there the Mavericks should not be going this long in between Cooper Flagg touches. If Flagg isn't already the best player on the team, he's certainly the important and thus should be more of a priority. At least keep him in the rhythm with regular involvement. Not happening consistently so far.
What a statement from the Spurs, who dominated the final three quarters to beat the Thunder for the third time in the last two weeks. The Thunder, who had not lost at home prior to this afternoon, are now 0-3 against the Spurs this season and 26-2 against everyone else.
As expected, the Thunder jumped out to an early lead behind their raucous home crowd, but the Spurs delivered an immediate response. They closed the first quarter on a 17-4 run to take the lead and never trailed again.
De'Aaron Fox poured in a game-high 29 points on 12 of 19 from the field, but this was a full team effort from the Spurs, who had five players in double figures. Stephon Castle had 19 points and seven assists, while Victor Wembanyama came off the bench to add 19 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, the Spurs shot 53.6% from the field, including an extremely impressive 19 of 25 from the 3-point line.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extended his 20-point streak to 102 games, but shot just 7 of 19 from the field in his least efficient game of the season. As a team, the Thunder had their second-worst field goal percentage of the season at 38.9%
The Spurs haven't been able to completely pull away, but they remain in full control as the game heads into the fourth quarter. San Antonio has gotten whatever they've wanted on offense, especially at the rim, where they're 16 of 21. Overall, the Spurs are shooting 55.1% from the field.
De'Aaron Fox remains the game's leading scorer with 25 points, but Stephon Castle (15), Victor Wembanyama (14) and Harrison Barnes (13) have all chipped in in the scoring department.
The Spurs have done an excellent job against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has extended his 20-point streak, but is shooting just 6 of 16 from the field.
The Spurs have completely controlled this game since the end of the first quarter. Really impressive showing from them again as they look to beat the Thunder for the third time in the last two weeks.
De'Aaron Fox has been incredible to lead the way for San Antonio. He has a game-high 21 points on 9 of 11 from the field. Stephon Castle has chipped in 13 points, and Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson have combined for 20 points off the bench. As a team, the Spurs are shooting 60% from the field.
Fun start to this one. As expected, the Thunder jumped in front early thanks to the energy of their home crowd, but the Spurs responded in a big way. They closed the quarter on a 17-4 run to take a five-point lead heading into the second quarter.
De'Aaron Fox (13 points) and Stephon Castle (nine points) are leading the way for the Spurs, who are shooting 71.4% from the field.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each have nine points to lead the Thunder, who are shooting 55.6% from the field themselves,
It's a Christmas miracle for the New York Knicks: Despite trailing by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Knicks escaped Madison Square Garden with a two-point win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. This was their biggest comeback win of the season.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks in scoring with 34 points (10-25 FG, 6-12 3PT, 8-10 FG) in 39 minutes. Brunson made a 3 to tie the game with less than four minutes to go and another 3 to put New York up by two points with about a minute left.
This was a game of runs. The Cavaliers built an 18-3 lead early, then the Knicks stormed back, starting the second quarter with a 24-3 run, largely because Cleveland couldn't take care of the ball. In the third quarter, the Cavs got organized, went on a 15-2 run and took control of the game again … only for the Knicks to go on a 19-4 run in the fourth quarter and turn this into a nailbiter.
Another way to look at it: Cleveland outscored New York 74-47 in the first and third quarters, and the Knicks outscored the Cavs 79-48 in the second and fourth quarters. Wild.
Evan Mobley, who had missed the Cavs' previous five games with a left calf strain, came off the bench for the first time in his career and played 25 minutes. He finished with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, plus nine rebounds and three assists.
Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek and and Mitchell Robinson were huge for the Knicks off the bench. Clarkson scored 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting. Kolek scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, dished nine assists and made a huge defensive play in crunch time. Robinson grabbed 13 rebounds in 17 minutes, eight of them on the offensive end.
With the win, the Knicks improve to 21-9 on the season. The Cavs are now 17-15.
Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell finished with 34 points (12-26 FG, 4-10 3PT, 6-6 FT), seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in 31 minutes.
Late in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson turned the ball over and it looked like Donovan Mitchell was going to get an easy two points out of it. Tyler Kolek hustled back, though, and made a play on the ball. He was called for a foul, but the Knicks challenged it and the referees determined that it was a clean swipedown. Kolek saved New York two points, and MSG chanted his name.
Here's the play:
Afterward, Mitchell missed a 3, then the Knicks took the lead with a Bridges bucket. Darius Garland answered with a layup, but then Jalen Brunson made a 3 to put New York up 121-119. That's still the score with 55.3 seconds left, following a Knicks stop.
Let's see if New York can hang on. The Knicks have outscored the Cavs 37-23 in the fourth.
The Knicks' Josh Hart has gone to the locker room after appearing to sprain his ankle in the fourth quarter. Here's the play:
Hart drew a foul on Dean Wade on the play, and he made the two ensuing free throws. After that, though, New York took a foul and Hart checked out.
It's unclear if he'll return. The Knicks, however, are right back in this game! After a Tyler Kolek jumper, Cleveland leads 111-108 with 4:31 left. New York is on a 17-4 run and MSG is alive.
What a quarter for Jaylon Tyson. He scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the third, including this thunderous dunk:
Tyson doesn't create much of his own offense, but he found a bunch of openings and took advantage. Made a spot-up 3, too. Huge for the Cavs.
Cleveland outscored New York 38-24 in the third and went on a 15-2 run to break the game open again.
The third quarter felt a lot like the first. The Knicks now have to hope that the fourth is similar to the second.
Not-so-fun fact for NY: Jalen Brunson is minus-31 in 30 minutes.
With 4:54 left in the third quarter, the Cavaliers are up 80-73. Darius Garland deserves a lot of credit for this.
Garland has not been at his best for most of this season, but he's been great today. And I'm not just talking about his 18 points. He has seven assists, and three times this quarter he has generated easy buckets for his teammates in transition: An alley-oop dunk for Donovan Mitchell, an and-1 for Dean Wade and an easy layup for Jarrett Allen.
Here's the lob to Mitchell:
Garland just got a bucket on a fast break himself. It's nice to see him playing at his pace.
New York is taking a two-point lead into halftime after outscoring Cleveland 37-20 in the second quarter. The Knicks started the game about as poorly as possible, but came roaring back. Both teams have looked dominant at times and dismal at others, and, 24 minutes in, it has just about evened out.
In the first half, Jalen Brunson converted two four-point plays. He has 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting at halftime. Jordan Clarkson added 14 of his own off the bench and really changed the game for New York.
Donovan Mitchell has 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting for the Cavs, but did all of his damage in the first quarter. Darius Garland has a team-high 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Cleveland's rotation is a little weird tonight, with Evan Mobley coming off the bench. Mobley has looked great, but some of their reserve-heavy lineups were pretty rough. Let's see how Kenny Atkinson manages things in the second half.
The Knicks started the second quarter on a 24-3 run (!) to take a 47-41 lead. It all happened in less than six minutes, with Jalen Brunson on the bench. The Cavs completely fell apart offensively, turning the ball over eight times during that terrible stretch. That must be demoralizing for Cleveland, considering how well it was playing at the outset.
Brunson is back in the game now, but Cleveland is up 54-53 with 2:16 left in the second quarter after Evan Mobley cut to the basket for a two-handed dunk. The Cavs are plus-7 in the nine minutes that Mobley has played.
With 7:50 left in the first half, the Cavaliers are up 41-38. After their 2-for-15 start, the Knicks have shot 13 for 16 to get back in it. Jordan Clarkson has been a big part of that -- he made two quick 3s at the beginning of the second quarter, then stole the ball from Darius Garland and scored on the break.
Clarkson has 11 points in 10 minutes. He's the main reason that New York has been able to make a run with Jalen Brunson on the bench.
After turning the ball over just once in the first quarter, the Cavs have turned it over five times in the second quarter. They obviously need to clean things up.
The Knicks were ho ho horrible at the beginning of this game. They struggled against the Cavs' switches, missed their first seven 3-point attempts and fell behind 18-3 at home. Two and a half minutes in, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his second foul. After missing 13 of their first 15 field goal attempts, they made six of their next seven, but they're still down 15 heading into the second quarter.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have been having a merry old time. Donovan Mitchell already has 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including this bucket:
On ESPN2's Disney broadcast, Mickey Mouse is standing in for Mitchell. Here's Mickey draining a pull-up 3:
Cleveland is shooting 13 for 19 early, including 6 for 11 from deep. Darius Garland is looking zippy on offense, and he's already put up nine points.
Jalen Brunson has 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting for New York.
Evan Mobley checked in off the bench for the first time in his career. He's expected to play 20 to 24 minutes.
Merry Christmas, Cleveland: Evan Mobley is available to play against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. This will be Mobley's first game since Dec. 12; he missed the Cavs' last five games with a strained left calf.
Mobley is not starting, however, and he'll presumably be on a minutes limit. Cleveland is going with a starting lineup of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade and Jarrett Allen.
The Knicks are going with their normal starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns.
