NBA Game Notes (Dec. 27, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Dec. 27, 2025.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Nikola Jokic scored a team-high 34 points to go with game highs of 21 rebounds and 12 assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Denver Nuggets were edged out by the Orlando Magic 127-126. Jokic shot 11-22 from the field and 12-13 from the free throw line. He also swiped one steal and committed just one personal foul in 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 36 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 128-125 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Towns went 8-15 from the floor (3-6 on threes) and 17-18 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Anthony Black scored a career-high 38 points in the Magic’s win over the Nuggets. Black shot 14-24 from the field, hitting seven of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. He added six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, committing just one turnover in 30 minutes played.
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Milestones
Jokic tallied at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game for the eighth time, breaking a tie with Oscar Robertson for the second-most such games in NBA history (Wilt Chamberlain, 16). He’s recored an additional three such games in the postseason, equaling the total of all other players in league history combined.
Russell Westbrook (one steal) reached 2,000 career steals in the Sacramento Kings’ 113-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He’s the 14th player to attain that milestone since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74.
Westbrook (nine assists) also increased his career total to 10,149 assists, passing Magic Johnson to take over seventh place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Streaking
The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (34 points) has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games, including three straight 30-point efforts. He’s averaging 32.6 PPG on 50.2/41.9/82.7 shooting splits over the former span.
The Hawks’ Jalen Johnson (20 points, 12 assists) has recorded 13 consecutive double-doubles, the longest such streak of his career by nine games. It’s the longest such streak by a Hawk since Kevin Willis’ 21-game run from Jan. 24 to March 11, 1992.
Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg (23 points, six rebounds, five assists) posted his third straight 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game. The only other teenagers in NBA history to record at least three such games in a row are LeBron James (five distinct streaks) and Luka Doncic.
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Indiana Pacers (eight) and Atlanta Hawks (six).
The Minnesota Timberwolves extended their streak of 100-point games to 90 in a 123-107 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. It’s the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.
Miscellany
Black led the nightly scoring brigade, pouring in a career-high 38 points. He was followed by Towns (36 points), Brunson (34), Jokic (34), and the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam (33).
Jokic was the top board man last night, hauling in 21 rebounds. Towns and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jaylon Tyson were runners-up with 15 rebounds apiece (a career high for Tyson).
The Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard was the night’s leading playmaker, handing out a career-high 16 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were the San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper (career-high 12), Johnson (12), Jokic (12), the Timberwolves’ Julius Randle (11), and the Hawks’ Trae Young (10).
Cam Thomas (30 points, 20 minutes) recorded the fewest minutes played in a 30-point game by a Net since the franchise joined the NBA in 1976.
The Miami Heat routed the Pacers 142-116, the seventh time they’ve scored at least 140 points in the calendar year. That equals the number of 140-point games they recorded from 1988 (the year they debuted) through 2024.