Luka Dončić scored 50 points to eclipse 10,000 for his career and had 14 assists, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Dončić capped a Christmas Day full of NBA games with a stellar performance, hitting 8 of 16 from 3 and all 12 of his free throws. He eclipsed 10,000 career points in the first quarter to reach the milestone in 358 career games, seventh fastest in NBA history. .
Dereck Lively II had 20 points and 10 rebounds after missing the previous four games with an ankle sprain and Tim Hardaway Jr added 18 points in Dallas’ ninth straight game without Kyrie Irving (heel).
Chimezie Metu and Grayson Allen gave the Suns a lift off a bench that’s been a weak spot at times this season.
Allen scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter to help the Suns rally from a 15-point deficit and went 8 of 17 from three-point range. Metu had 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds with big man Jusuf Nurkić missing his second straight game due to personal reasons.
Dallas went on a 17-4 run midway through the fourth quarter and pulled away from there to send Phoenix to their ninth loss in 12 games.
Dončić had a 39-point triple-double in a win over San Antonio his last game and got off to a sizzling start in the desert.
He welcomed Lively back by setting him up with two easy baskets at the rim. Dončić started looking for his shot after that, scoring 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first quarter to give the Mavericks a 36-24 lead.
Dončić returned in the second quarter to hit a step-back three-pointer and found Derrick Jones Jr for a soaring alley-oop. Dončić had 24 points and eight assists to give Dallas a 64-54 halftime lead.
The Suns were disjointed offensively most of the first half, missing 13 straight shots starting late in the first quarter. Phoenix kept Dallas within reach behind Metu’s 13 points by getting to the line, hitting 12 of 14 free throws in the first half.
The Suns had better ball movement to open the third quarter, using penetration to get open looks while cutting Dallas’ lead to 75-71. Phoenix took the lead on Allen’s three-pointer and things got testy late in the third quarter when Dallas’ Grant Williams pulled Devin Booker by his jersey.
The Mavericks used their big run to go up eight and stretched it to 14 on Dončić’s runner in the closing seconds.
Milwaukee Bucks 122-129 New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the New York Knicks snapped Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak, ending their lengthy skid against the Bucks with a 129-122 victory Monday.
The Knicks had dropped nine straight meetings, including a 130-111 loss on Saturday in the opener of this two-game series. The Bucks had handled New York easily twice while rolling through their December schedule, but they haven’t solved Brunson all season, and the point guard got plenty of help from his teammates this time.
Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a poor game Saturday with 21 points and Immanuel Quickley came off the bench for 20.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for the Bucks, who fell to 9-2 this month. Khris Middleton added 24.
Boston Celtics 126-115 Los Angeles Lakers
Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jayson Tatum added 25 points and Boston defeated Los Angeles for the first time in a Christmas Day meeting.
Jaylen Brown had 19 points and Derrick White chipped in with 18 points and 11 rebounds. All five starters had at least 18 points for the Celtics, who have won three straight and 12 of their past 14.
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 40 points with 13 rebounds, LeBron James had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Lakers have dropped six of eight since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Boston successfully kept Los Angeles at arm’s length in the final quarter, despite Davis hitting the 40-point mark for the 40th time in a regular season game.
Philadelphia 76ers 113-119 Miami Heat
Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr scored 31 points and got his first double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and Miami held on to beat Philadelphia.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 on Christmas, the best record in NBA history for head coaches on the holiday.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for the Heat in what became his first Christmas win. Jaquez also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which held a 56-36 edge on the boards.
Reigning MVP and two-time defending scoring champion Joel Embiid missed the game for Philadelphia because of an ankle sprain. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers, and Kelly Oubre Jr added 25. Mo Bamba scored 18, De’Anthony Melton had 15 and Tyrese Maxey – who shot 4 for 20 from the floor – finished with 12.
Golden State Warriors 114-120 Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray scored 28 points, Nikola Jokić overcame an off day from the field by going 18 of 18 from the free throw line and Denver extended their winning streak to five games by holding off Golden State.
Jokić finished with 26 points despite going 4 of 12 from the floor. He also had 14 rebounds and eight assists.
It was a back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes in the second half.
Andrew Wiggins gave the Warriors a boost by scoring 22 points as he returned to the floor after missing two games with an illness. Stephen Curry took a bit to warm up, not scoring until midway through the second quarter, but heated up late to finish with 18 points.