Anthony Davis is injured and out for at least a month. Klay Thompson’s incredibly long recovery is not quite finished. Kyrie Irving is almost certainly not going to be ready to make his season debut.
The NBA’s Christmas lineup was already going to be missing some stars.
LeBron James finished playing back-to-back road games in the Midwest on Friday, flew to Phoenix on Saturday to watch his son play, and then dropped a triple-double on the Orlando Magic back in LA on Sunday night.
What’s this soon-to-be 37-year-old’s secret, other than spectacular talent and decades of hard work?
JaVale McGee always brings the energy. On Friday night, he also brought the buckets.
The 7-footer had season highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds, Chris Paul added 12 assists and the Phoenix Suns rolled to a 111-90 win over the Boston Celtics.
The Suns won for the 20th time in 21 games despite missing starters Devin Booker (hamstring) and Deandre Ayton (non-COVID illness). Booker has missed four games in a row, while Ayton was a late scratch because he didn’t feel well at the morning shootaround.
Kevin Durant scored an NBA season-high 51 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 116-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
With James Harden resting, Durant scored at least 10 points in all four quarters.
“I knew I probably needed to pick up a little more of the scoring tonight,” said Durant, who had his seventh 50-point game of his career. “We were turning the ball over more than we should, and I was doing as much of that as anyone, so I figured I better just keep shooting.”
MANILA---THE finest and brightest woodpushers display their wares anew starting Dec. 16 when the Hon. Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao Chess Tournament gets going at the Robinsons Place in General Santos City.
Sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and sponsored by Hon. Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, the 2 day over the board
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a five-game losing streak with a 116-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Anthony Edwards had 24 points for Minnesota, which also ended an eight-game losing streak in Portland.
Nikola Jokic scored 11 of his season-high 39 points in overtime to go with his 11 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets pulled out a 120-114 victory over the mistake-prone New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
Jokic also scored five points in the final 1:29 of regulation to help Denver erase a five-point deficit and force overtime.
Kevin Durant and James Harden carried the heavy scoring load for the Brooklyn Nets, as usual.
Coach Steve Nash also credited his “bullpen” for closing out New Jersey’s win over Atlanta.
Durant scored 31 points, including a go-ahead jumper midway through the fourth quarter, and the Nets proved to be resilient once again, beating the Hawks 113-105 on Friday night.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points and moved within nine 3-pointers of tying Ray Allen’s career record, and the Golden State Warriors held off the injury-depleted Portland Trail Blazers 104-94 Wednesday night.
The reigning NBA scoring champion shot 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, missing his initial four 3-point tries before connecting at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter. Curry went 4 of 12 in the first half as Golden State held a 47-45 edge at the break.
