NBA Game Notes (Dec. 25, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Dec. 25, 2024.

Dec 26, 2024

Three Stars

The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the “first star” considered the best of the three players, similar to the player of the match in other sports. Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games.

First ⭐️

Victor Wembanyama compiled game highs of 42 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks, but the San Antonio Spurs fell to the New York Knicks 117-114. Wembanyama made 16 of his career-high 31 field goal attempts, including six of his 16 tries from 3-point range. He also had four assists and one steal, committing just one personal foul in 40 minutes of action.

Second ⭐️

Mikal Bridges scored a season-high 41 points in the Knicks’ win over the Spurs, New York’s fifth consecutive victory. Bridges went 17-25 from the floor (tying his career high for field goals made), sinking six of his nine 3-point attempts. He added four assists, a game-high two steals (tied with Josh Hart), and two blocks in 43 turnover-free minutes.

Third ⭐️

Tyrese Maxey registered game highs of 33 points, 12 assists, and three steals (tied with Paul George) to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-114 victory over the Boston Celtics. Maxey shot 12-23 from the field (3-9 on 3-pointers) and hit all six of his free throw attempts. He also contributed four rebounds and one block in 41 minutes of playing time.

Milestones

Wembanyama is just the third player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in a Christmas Day game, joining Wilt Chamberlain (1959 and 1961) and Nikola Jokic (2022).
Wembanyama is only the second player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point, 15-rebound games before his 21st birthday. He joins John Drew, who produced three such games as a rookie in 1974-75.
Wembanyama tied the Spurs’ record for most 3-pointers attempted in a game with 16. He shares the mark with Jaren Jackson (Nov. 20, 1999), Devonte’ Graham (Feb. 10, 2023), and himself (Nov. 13, 2024).
In addition, Wembanyama tied the franchise record for most 3-pointers missed in a game with 10. Patty Mills (Jan. 10, 2021) and Graham also missed 10 threes in a game for the Spurs.
The Dallas Mavericks’ Klay Thompson made four 3-pointers in a 105-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, increasing his career total to 2,562. He passed Reggie Miller (2,560) to take over fifth place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Wembanyama and Bridges became just the third pair of opposing players to each score at least 40 points in a Christmas Day game. The others to achieve the feat are Oscar Robertson & Elgin Baylor (1961) and Wilt Chamberlain & Richie Guerin (also 1961).

Streaking

Wembanyama has blocked at least one shot in 64 consecutive games, the longest such streak in Spurs history. Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, no other player has produced such a streak longer than 33 games before their 21st birthday.
Wembanyama has recorded at least one block and one 3-pointer made in each of his last 21 games, tying Kristaps Porzingis (Jan. 3, 2018 to Oct. 29, 2019) for the longest such streak in NBA history.
LeBron James scored a team-high 31 points and dished out a game-high 10 assists (tied with Austin Reaves) in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 win over the Golden State Warriors. James has scored in double figures in 1,250 consecutive regular season games, the longest such streak in NBA history by a whopping 384 games.
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 32 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. He’s recorded three straight 30-point, 10-rebound games, one shy of matching the franchise record of four such games in a row held by Larry Bird (Dec. 4-12, 1982).
Tatum is the first Celtic to record back-to-back 30-point, 15-rebound games since Bird accomplished the feat on Feb. 9 & 10, 1988.
The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic scored 14 points with three 3-pointers made before departing the game in the second quarter with a calf injury. He’s made at least one 3-pointer in 92 straight games, the eighth-longest such streak in NBA history.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: New York Knicks (five).

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Wembanyama was the day’s leading scorer, pouring in 42 points. Also scoring at least 30 points were Bridges (season-high 41), the Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving (39), the Warriors’ Stephen Curry (season-high 38), Maxey (33), Tatum (32), and James (31).
Wembanyama was also the day’s leading board man, hauling in 18 rebounds. The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (15), Tatum (season-high-tying 15), the Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic (13), the Knicks’ Josh Hart (12), and the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (12) also collected at least a dozen boards each.
Maxey was the top playmaker, handing out 12 assists yesterday. James and teammate Austin Reaves also delivered double-digit dimes with 10 apiece (a season high for Reeves).
Reaves logged his third career triple-double, scoring 26 point and snagging 10 rebounds to go with his season-high 10 assists. He’s the 10th different player (14th instance) to record a triple-double on Christmas Day.
Curry scored a season-high 38 points, making eight of his 15 attempts from 3-point range. It’s the 84th time he’s made at least eight threes in a game, seven more such games than the next three closest players combined: Damian Lillard (31), Klay Thompson (24), and James Harden (22).