National Basketball Association

NBA Top Plays: Curry, Harden star on Christmas Day

Updated Dec. 26, 2021 1:36 a.m. ET

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It's the most wonderful time of the year to be an NBA fan! 

Up first, the New York Knicks made easy work of the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden, securing a 101-87 win, followed by the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Bucks against the Boston Celtics.

"The Greek Freak" was back in action after missing the past five games in health and safety protocols. He didn't miss a beat, scoring 36 points to lead the Bucks to a 117-113 win.

Then, the Phoenix Suns fell at home to the Golden State Warriors 116-107, in what was a battle between the teams with the two best records in the league, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers coming up short in a comeback bid against the Brooklyn Nets, 122-115. 

Saturday's action closes with the Dallas Mavericks traveling to Utah to face the Jazz.

Here are the top moments from Christmas Day.

Utah Jazz 120, Dallas Mavericks 116

There's no Luka Dončić tonight for Dallas, but Jalen Brunson will look to fill in best he can.

Early on for the Jazz, it's been all Bojan Bogdanovic.

He could have used a few more hops on this one, but two points is two points.  

Maybe Hassan Whiteside can teach his teammate a few things?

How about Charlie Brown Jr. for Dallas? 

So fitting.

And at the end of one, Dallas held a 34-25 lead.

Utah opened the second with a bang to knot things up, courtesy of Mike Conley.

Then Donovan Mitchell really went BANG.

Jordan Clarkson came up big to give the Jazz the lead, which they carried into the break, 65-61.

It was neck and neck between both teams, as Frank Ntilikina did his part to fill in for Doncic.

At one point, the Jazz found themselves down nine points, but they were quick to turn things around behind the defense of Rudy Gobert … 

… and the sustained offense of Clarkson and Mitchell.

It was tied at 90 going into the fourth, but Utah stretched its lead to nine with under six minutes to go, an effort that was aided by this Gobert lob.

Brunson was looking to keep Dallas in it late, with this nasty stepback over Gobert.

And then, not be undone, Gobert visited the well again.

In the end, Utah outlasted Dallas behind 33 points from Mitchell and 25 from Bogdanovic.

Brooklyn Nets 122, Los Angeles Lakers 115

Brooklyn –– which is without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving –– got things going with its secondary options. 

Oh –– and James Harden still exists. 

At the end of the first, Brooklyn led by 15 by shooting 66.7% from the field. 

Teamwork made the dream work on this play from L.A. 

Outside of that outlet pass, LeBron James also made some history. 

However, L.A. hasn't been able to solve the Harden puzzle so far. 

Or the Patty Mills one. 

At half, Brooklyn led 66-62 behind 23 points from Harden and 19 from Mills. James had 22.

And it was much of the same come the third quarter, with Harden and Mills having their way with the L.A. defense. 

After three, the Lakers trailed 102-82. L.A. has now trailed by at least 20 in three straight games, with each game coming at home. 

L.A. didn't go down without a fight, however, cutting Brooklyn's lead to two with under two minutes to go. 

The Lakers then tied the game at 115-115 with 45 seconds to go.

But this remarkable lob and finish and and-1 from Nic Claxton pushed Brooklyn back into the lead and over the edge. 

A few free throws from Harden –– who finished with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists –– earned the Nets a 122-115 win. Mills finished with 34 points. 

The Lakers have now lost five straight.

Golden State Warriors 116, Phoenix Suns 107

Stephen Curry got the action started early against the Suns, draining a triple to draw within five makes of 3,000 career 3-pointers.

While Curry is known for doing his damage further away from the rim, Gary Payton II is clearly more comfortable right at the basket.

How about this teamwork from the Warriors? It doesn't get much better than this.

But let's get back to Steph:

The Suns have their fair share of stars, too, including Devin Booker, who fought for the board and earned the and-1. 

At halftime, Phoenix held a 62-58 lead.

Headed into the final frame, things were tied –– but in terms of NBA history, Steph kept sprinting away from the field. 

For the Suns, Landry Shamet stepped away from the 3-point line for a sec and went coast-to-coast for the jam.

 It wasn't all Curry for the Warriors. Rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga got into the mix midway through the fourth.

And in the end, 'twas Otto Porter Jr. that closed the show for Golden State.

Curry led the way with a game-high 33 points, while Porter pitched in 19 and GPII scored 14.

Milwaukee Bucks 117, Boston Celtics 113

It was the Jaylen Brown show to start the game for the Celtics, with the All-Star guard making his first five shots to give the Celtics an early lead.

He ended up scoring 14 points in the opening frame.

In the second quarter, Brown continued to have the shooter's touch, while Jayson Tatum joined in.

The All-Star duo combined for 32 of the Celtics' 62 first-half points.

In the third quarter, the Bucks caught fire to climb back into the game.

The comeback was sparked by Antetokounmpo's two-way dominance. He scored 17 points in the third.

Donte DiVincenzo was in the middle of the action as well, scoring his first points of the season in his regular season debut.

The fourth quarter was all Antetokounmpo as well, with him scoring 12 points in the quarter to finish the game with 36 points to go along with two blocks.

Antetokounmpo was supported by 17 points apiece from Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday and another 16 from Bobby Portis off the bench.

New York Knicks 101, Atlanta Hawks 87

The Knicks started off red-hot against the Hawks, making their first seven shots from the field to take an early double-digit lead.

They continued to ride that early wave of momentum into the second quarter, with highlight plays being provided by the likes of Obi Toppin.

But Cam Reddish made his presence felt in the second quarter, scoring in bunches to keep the Hawks within arms reach.

However, Evan Fournier's hot-hand led the Knicks to a 61-51 halftime lead.

When the third quarter started, the Knicks continued their onslaught of the Hawks, with contributions from Taj Gibson and Toppin to get the crowd behind them.

Kemba Walker also continued his good stretch of play for the Knicks, recording a triple-double on the way to a big win. It was his first triple-double since 2014.

In the end, the Knicks were buoyed by five players scoring double-digits, led by Walker's all-around game and Julis Randle's 25 points.

To cap it all off, Toppin provided the home crowd with one more highlight dunk to put a bow on the game.

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National Basketball Association

Los Angeles Lakers

Brooklyn Nets

New York Knicks

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Milwaukee Bucks

Utah Jazz

Phoenix Suns

Golden State Warriors

LeBron James

Russell Westbrook

James Harden

Luka Doncic

Stephen Curry

Draymond Green

Chris Paul

Devin Booker

Obi Toppin

Cam Reddish

Jayson Tatum

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Donovan Mitchell

Rudy Gobert

Evan Fournier

Taj Gibson

Kemba Walker

Julius Randle

Gary Payton II

NBA - Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks - 12/25/2021

NBA - Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks - 12/25/2021

NBA - Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns - 12/25/2021

NBA - Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 12/26/2021

NBA - Dallas Mavericks vs. Utah Jazz - 12/26/2021