Christmas Day is a time where we give and receive gifts as well as spend time with family and friends, reflecting about the past, appreciating the present and looking forward to the future. This is also the day where the NBA fans get a stocking full of games. We learn a lot about the teams that played and on this Christmas Day.
The day began in Brooklyn, NY between the Chicago Bulls (11-16) and the Brooklyn Nets (9-19), two teams who meet in the playoffs a season ago and have gotten off to rough starts this season.
Just like in the playoffs, where the Bulls as the No. 5 Seed defeated the No. 4 seeded Nets 4-3, took them apart and came away with a 95-78 victory at Barclays Center.
The Bulls were led by Taj Gibson with 20 points off the bench to go along with eight rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 15 points and five boards. Carlos Boozer had 14 points, Mike Dunleavy had 13 points and seven boards. D.J. Augustin, who was signed by the Bulls earlier this month had 13 points and five assists. Joakim Noah, a New York native had 10 points and eight boards for the Bulls, who won their second straight.
The Nets, who lost their fourth straight contest and five out of six were led by Deron Williams with 18 points. Mirza Teletovic had 17 points. Joe Johnson had 12 points for the Nets, who committed 17 turnovers, had just 11 assists and their bench managed just 23 points on just 4 for 30 shooting.
The combination of Andray Blatche, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce managed just 19 points on 4 for 26 shooting.
Coming into their Christmas Day contest with the Bulls, the Nets ranked in the bottom of the league in opponents three-point percentage (39.7-29th NBA), rebounds per game (40.4-29th NBA) and opponents points per game (102.6-25th).
The Bulls, one of the league's worst offensive teams, shot 48.6 percent from the field against the Nets. They out-rebounded the Nets 45-39.
On top of that, the Nets who have been at the bottom of the league in terms of third quarter output so far this season, were outscored 36-20 after intermission, which included a 21-5 spurt that broke the game open.
Earlier in the week, Nets rookie head coach Jason Kidd said about his team's play, "Were kind of getting comfortable with losing and we've got to make a stand with that because when things get tough, do we just give in? And most of the time we do."
It has been a tough season for the Nets, but despite their struggles, they are just three games back of the Toronto Raptors (11-15) in the Atlantic Division, which states how bad the Eastern Conference has been so far in 2013-14.
With that being said though, the Nets, whose road back to being in playoff contention got harder because center Brook Lopez was lost to for the rest of the season due to a broken foot suffered in a 121-120 overtime loss at the Philadelphia 76ers (8-20).
What is going to make this climb even harder for the Nets is the fact that they do not have an identity to lean on.
While the Bulls are struggling to win games right now, they at least know that they have a identity of playing defense and bringing effort and energy game in and game out. That is why their chances of competing for a playoff spot are much better than the Nets.
The second game featured the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks. Two teams headed in opposite directions.
On this date back in 1984 versus the Nets, Hall of Fame Knicks' forward Bernard King scored 60 points on 19 for 30 from the field and 22 for 26 from the free throw line. The Knicks unfortunately lost 120-114.
The Knicks (9-19) latest Christmas Day contest was never close as the Thunder (23-5) won 123-94.
All-Star forward Kevin Durant paced five double-figure scorers for the Thunder with 29 points to go along with seven boards and six assists. Serge Ibaka had 24 points on 10 for 14 shooting. Reggie Jackson had 18 points off the bench. Russell Westbrook recorded his first triple-double and seventh of his career with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Thunder, who have won 18 of their last 20 games, shot 53.6 percent from the field. They hit 13 for 24 from three-point range and registered 32 assists on 45 made field goals.
Their victory at the Knicks also snapped 10-game road losing streak on Christmas Day and it was the team's first victory on Christmas Day in franchise history going back to the team's days when they were the Seattle Supersonics.
At this time a season ago, the Knicks were 20-8, on route to winning their first Atlantic Division title as well as a home record of 31-10.
Their 29-point setback on Wednesday was their 11th loss in 15 tries at Madison Square Garden this season. It was also the worst home loss on Christmas Day for a home team in NBA history.
To make matters worse, the Knicks who started wearing orange color jerseys at certain times at home this season are now 0-7 this season. Three of those losses have been by 20-plus point. A 31-point setback versus the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 10 (120-89); 20-point loss versus the Atlanta Hawks (16-13) 110-90 and 41-defeat versus the Boston Celtics (12-17) 114-73 on Dec. 8.
Playing without the second leading scorer in the league in forward Carmelo Anthony (26.3 ppg) because of sprained left ankle he sustained in the 103-98 victory at the Orlando Magic (8-20) this past Monday night did not help the Knicks cause coming into Wednesday's contest. The Knicks were also without starting lead guard Raymond Felton who injured his groin in the aforementioned contest last Monday night.
The Knicks were lead in scoring by Amar'e Stoudemire who had 22 points on 10 for 16 from the field off the bench. Rookie guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. had 21 points off the pine. J.R. Smith was the only starter in double figures with 20 points, but shot just 8 for 22 from the field, including going just 3 for 9 from three-point territory.
The rest of the starting quintet of the Knicks of Andrea Bargnani, Tyson Chandler, Beno Udrih and Iman Shumpert had just 24 points on just 10 for 27 shooting.
Coming into the contest, the Knicks ranked 30th in fastbreak points (7.6); 29th in rebounds per contest at 38.9 and 25th in points per contest at 95.
The Thunder out-rebounded the Knicks 46-42. Out fastbreaked the Knicks 18-8 and held them to 94 points on 42.2 percent from the floor and connecting on just 6 for 23 from three-point territory.
As mentioned earlier, both of these teams who came into this season with championship aspirations have gone in opposite directions.
To bring this point to its appex, the Thunder have post more wins on the road at 10 than the Knicks have total victories with just nine.
The saving grace for the Knicks though, they are like the Nets just 3 games back of the Nets for the top spot in the Atlanic Division.
If they have any chance of making that a reality, they must get back on the winning track at home. Anthony and Felton must get back soon and they have to play with much more effort and energy. You can have all of the talent in the world, but when you play with no joy, concentration and confidence, winning consistently is that much harder.
The third game of the holiday featured familiar foes who have played on this day before in the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles.
This game though did not feature one of the main characters in perennial All-Star guard in Kobe Bryant who is on the shelf because of a fractured lateral tibial plateau in his left knee.
The Lakers (13-16) without their lead man held their own against the Heat for much of the game thanks to their ability to connect from three-point range as they went 14 for 36 from three-point range.
The team was paced by Nick Young, who scored 20 points off the bench. Jodie Meeks had 17 points. Xavier Henry had 14 points and Pau Gasol had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Wesley Johnson had 12 points.
Despite their efforts, the Lakers fell for the sixth time in as many tries on Christmas Day to the Heat (22-6) 101-95.
Guard Dwyane Wade, last week's Eastern Conferene Player of the Week, led the way with 23 points, six boards and seven assists. Chris Bosh also had 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Reigning back-to-back Most Valuable Player LeBron James had 19 points and eight boards. Ray Allen contributed 12 points going 4 for 5 from three-point land.
The Heat, who won their sixth game in a row, their seventh victory in as many chances against the Western Conference and their 19th consecutive overall against the West.
If there is anything that this game showed is the value of having stars on the court. When this contest was in the balance, the Heat were able to get seven layups that allowed them to get separation from the Lakers.
That is because the Heat had the "Big 3" of James, Wade and Bosh on the court in clutch time. That resulted in the likes of Allen, Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers to get easy shot attempts throughout the game and especially at crunch time.
The Lakers without Bryant on the court did not have the focal point that we draw the attention of the Heat defense.
What also helped the Heat in this contest is they had the kind of focus necessary to take care of business against an opponent without their star player. When you are a back-to-back champion which the Heat are, you have seen virtually every single system situation possible.
They also understand that a game like this can bite them in the rear if they were to fall, especially since the only other true contender in the East the Indiana Pacers are ahead of them for the best record in the Conference at 23-5.
"We knew were going to play against a team that was going to come out and going to give us everything. Obviously their main guy down with Kobe, but they got guys that is highly capable," Wade said to ESPN's Heather Cox after the game.
The next to last contest featured Texas rivals in the Houston Rockets and the Spurs.
The Rockets (19-11) lead wire to wire as they defeated the (22-7) for the second time this season 111-98.
James Harden paced the Rockets with 28 points to go along with 6 rebounds and six assists. Terrence Jones had 21 points to go along with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Chandler Parsons also had 21 points on 8 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 9 from three-point range. He also had six rebounds and six assists. Dwight Howard registered his 20th double-double of the season with 15 points and 20 boards to go along with two blocks. Jeremy Lin had 13 points and eight assists for the Rockets, who had lost seven straight to the Spurs prior to their two victories in as many chances versus the Spurs this season.
The Rockets were able to prevail against the Spurs again because of their ability to take care of business on both ends of the court.
At the offensive end, the Rockets, who scored 40 points in the first quarter, shot 52.3 percent from the field, went 12 for 24 from three-point range, outscored the Spurs in the paint 50-44, outscored them on the fastbreak 17-12 and registered 28 assists on 45 made baskets. The Rockets starters outscored the Spurs quintet 98-45.
Defensively, the Rockets held the Spurs to 40.7 percent shooting, including going 5 for 20 from the field. They out-rebounded the Spurs 50-46.
Despite recording his ninth to the double-double of the season of 11 points and 14 rebounds to go along with five assists and six block shots, Tim Duncan shot just 4 for 12 from the field.
Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 22 points on 8 for 17 from the floor. Kawhi Leonard was the only other player in double-figures with 13 points with seven boards.
The combination of Leonard, Tiago Splitter, Tony Parker and Duncan went just 15 for 44 from the floor.
After leading after the first period 40-25, the Spurs outscored the Rockets 50-43 over the next two quarters, the Rockets outscored the Spurs 28-23 in the fourth. Harden scored 16 of those 28 points in the fourth quarter going 6 for 7 from the field.
"My teammates needed me. The first three quarters, I was just trying to be a facilitator. Making sure the ball moved well and in the fourth quarter, I just tried to be a creator and make some shots," Harden, who is seccond in the league with a 7.2 point per game average in the fourth quarter, said to ESPN's Israel Gutierrez after the game on Wednesday.
Despite leading the Rockets by three and a half games in the Southwest Division, there is cause for concern in Spurs camp.
They have gone 0 for 6 against the Portland Trail Blazers (24-5), Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers (20-11) and Rockets. Dating back to last season, the Rockets have beaten the Spurs three straight times after losing the previous seven in a row.
Overall the Spurs have lost two of their last three contest and have gone 3-3 in their last six games. On top of that they are just 3-6 in recent contest against teams over .500.
While their is cause for concern, we got to remember, these are the defending Western Conference champs. They are going through a rough stretch, but they will bounce back that is a promise.
The last game, the most entertaining one of the day featured a budding rivarly between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.
It was just a few years ago that these two teams could only dream of playing on Christmas Day. Two days ago that dream became a reality and for the Clippers (20-11), it was the second year in succession they have played on Christmas Day. They won versus the Denver Nuggets a year ago 112-100.
They did not get the same result this time around at the Warriors (17-13) who defeated them 105-103, taking revenge against the Clippers, who defeated them 126-115 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA back on Halloween night.
David Lee and Klay Thompson each had 23 points to lead the Warriors. Lee registered his 18 double-double of the season as he had 13 boards to go along with his point total. Stehpen Curry also recorded a double-double, his 13th of the season with 15 points and 11 assists. Harrison Barnes had 14 off the bench and Andrew Bogut had a double-double of his own with 10 points and 14 boards.
The Clippers were paced by Chris Paul who had his 24th double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 assists. Blake Griffin registered his 23rd double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Jamal Crawford had 19 points, while DeAndre Jordan had 13 points, 13 rebounds and six block shots. Darren Collison had 11 points off the bench.
The Warriors came through with the victory despite shooting just 42.1 percent from the field because they managed to hit 10 three-pointers in 24 tries. They out-rebounded the Clippers 49-38 and outscored them 52-38 in the paint.
The Clippers lost for just the third time this season in 22 chances when taking a lead into the fourth quarter, which they did at 77-74 late Wednesday night. It was also just their third setback of such kind in 11 tries on the road.
These two teams over the last couple of years have grown a serious dislike for one another. That went to another level in this past contest.
At the end of the third quarter Warriors forward Draymond Green got into a scuffle that resulted in Green getting ejected for a flagarant two foul from throwing an elbow. Griffin drew just a technical foul.
In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Griffin got into it with Bogut drawing his second technical foul resulting in his ejection. Bogut drew just a flagrant one foul as well as a technical foul.
Without their inside presenec on the court, the Clippers were unable to close as they missed many shot from in close in the closing stages of the final period.
When the game ended, players from both teams got tangled near the tunnel that lead to the Clippers' locker room, which resulted in security personnel stepped in. In the middle of all this was former Warrior swingman Stephen Jackson.
While both of these teams have had risen from the ashes of the basement in the NBA standings, both head coaches of Clippers Glenn "Doc" Rivers and Mark Jackson of the Warriors, both former players in the league say this is a long way from being a rivalry, especially since both teams are far from being perennial championship contenders.
One thing is for sure, they are very entertaining high scoring teams, who will meet for the third of four meetings back at Oracle Arena on Jan. 30 on TNT.
There are a number of things that can be taken away from the games that took place on Christmas Day. For starters four of the five teams that won today were the away teams, the Bulls, Thunder, Heat and Rockets. The Nets and Knicks who have the No. 1 and No. 2 highest payrolls in the league respectably prove that you cannot buy victories in the league. The Rockets if they can play at the level they did on Wednesday night, they can be in the conversation as a title contender. The Warriors, who had a breakthough season a year ago, have learned that going from pretender to contender is not easy. However, if they play with the kind of effort and energy they did on Wednesday night on both ends, they have a chance of making the playoffs again. The biggest lesson on this day was demonstrated by the Bulls. A team that has not been the same since losing the 2011 MVP in Derrick Rose to a season ending knee injury, is that when you have a identity and you stick with it, competing to win games is easy and proving you are more than just one player is even easier. That is especially the case when you have a coach in Tom Thibodeau that demands it from the practice court to gameday.
Information, quotations and statistics is courtesy of www.espn.go.com/nba/statistics/standings/schedule; 12/26/13 1 a.m. edition of "NBA Tonight" on ESPN 2 with Alfredo Lomeli and Tim Legler; 12/26/13 6 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime" with Matt Winer and Steve Smith;
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