BBNBA: Anthony Davis' 40-point gift headlines Christmas Day action

Anthony Davis‘ fourth-ever Christmas Day game was easily his best yet. Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort.

Davis, who played at Kentucky during the 2011-12 national title season, poured in a BBNBA-high of 40 points for the Los Angeles Lakers during Monday’s five-game Christmas Day slate. He added 13 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season to go along with four assists and one block in 39 minutes. Davis shot 15-26 from the field and knocked in a pair of three-pointers. However, his impressive individual performance wasn’t enough to top the Boston Celtics, which came out on top 126-115.

The Lakers have now lost six of its last eight games since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament. Meanwhile, Boston has won three straight and 12 of its last 14 contests. Davis’ teammate, Jarred Vanderbilt, chipped in six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes during the loss.

Despite decades worth of history between the Celtics and Lakers, this was just the third time these two legendary franchises have played on Christmas (1951, 2008). This was the sixth time that Davis was scheduled to play on Christmas Day (and fourth with the Lakers), but it was just the fourth he’s played in after missing the last two in 2021 and 2022 due to injury.

Adebayo, Herro take down cold-shooting Maxey

At least on the floor, Christmas Day was one that Tyrese Maxey will want to forget very soon. The fourth-year point guard is having an All-Star caliber season, but he looked lost without Joel Embiid for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Miami Heat. With Embiid sidelined due to an ankle sprain, Maxey was relied upon to do a little bit of everything for the Sixers.

It must’ve been too much. Maxey shot a poor 4-20 from the field, including a 1-8 mark from deep, for just 12 points in 43 minutes. He contributed three rebounds and five assists without committing a turnover, but his shooting struggles dug Philly into a hole it could not get out of. The 76ers wound up falling 119-113.

On the flip side, Miami was without star wing Jimmy Butler, leaving former Wildcats Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro as the Heat’s go-to scorers. They did much better than Maxey. Adebayo finished with 26 points (10 in the fourth quarter), 15 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks while Herro went for 22 points (on 25 shot attempts), six rebounds, and five assists.

The score was tied 86-86 after the first three quarters, but Adebayo and Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. powered Miami (20 combined fourth quarter points) to a six-point win down the stretch. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra is now 9-0 on Christmas Day, the best record by any head coach for the holiday.

Randle, Quickley combine for 44 in win over Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks entered Christmas riding a seven-game win streak. Thanks to Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley, they went back to Wisconsin on a one-game losing skid.

Randle (24 points) and Quickley (20) combined for 44 points in the New York Knicks’ 129-122 win over the Bucks. New York point guard Jalen Brunson also added 38 points to help snap his team’s nine-game losing streak to the Bucks. Randle also added nine rebounds on 8-17 shooting in 41 minutes while Quickley was an efficient 7-10 from the field in his 22 minutes off the bench.

There were three other one-time Wildcats listed on the rosters of these two teams, although none of them saw any Christmas Day action. Chris Livingston (MIL) received a DNP-Coach’s Decision while TyTy Washington (MIL) and Jacob Toppin (NYK) were not with the team.

Other BBNBA Christmas Day notes

• Jamal Murray poured in 28 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 32 minutes for the Denver Nuggets, which suck past the Golden State Warriors 120-114. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic only shot 4-12 from the field but connected on a career-high 18 three throws. Denver has now won five games in a row and improved to 22-10 on the season.
• Devin Booker posted a 20-point, 10-assist double-double for the Phoenix Suns, but his showing was overshadowed by a 50-burger from Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic, who also surpassed the 10,000-point mark for his career. The Suns rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter but a 17-4 run from Dallas in the fourth put the nail in the coffin as the Mavs won 128-114. Phoenix has now lost nine of its last 12 games.

12/25/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Anthony Davis (LAL)	126-115 L vs. BOS	40	15-26 (2-4)	13	4	0	1	2	-6	39
Jamal Murray (DEN)	120-114 W vs. GSW	28	10-18 (3-5)	5	3	2	0	2	20	32
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	119-113 W vs. PHI	26	9-15	15	5	0	3	4	0	36
Julius Randle (NYK)	129-122 W vs. MIL	24	8-17 (2-5)	9	2	1	0	4	6	41
Tyler Herro (MIA)	119-113 W vs. PHI	22	8-25 (4-11)	6	5	1	1	4	-5	38
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	129-122 W vs. MIL	20	7-10 (2-4)	0	1	1	0	1	14	22
Devin Booker (PHX)	128-114 L vs. DAL	20	6-14 (1-4)	3	10	1	1	3	-18	40
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	119-113 L @ MIA	12	4-20 (1-8)	3	5	1	1	0	3	43
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	126-115 L vs. BOS	6	3-5	6	0	1	0	0	-10	22
TyTy Washington (MIL)	129-122 L @ NYK	DNP-G League	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Jacob Toppin (NYK)	129-122 W vs. MIL	DNP-G League	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chris Livingston (MIL)	129-122 L @ NYK	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA

• 7:00 | Magic @ Wizards
• 7:00 | Nets @ Pistons (Knox)
• 8:00 | Jazz (Juzang: 2Way) @ Spurs (Johnson)
• 8:00 | Timberwolves (Towns: questionable) @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr: 2Way, Wallace)
• 8:00 | Grizzlies @ Pelicans
• 8:00 (NBA TV) | Pacers (Jackson, Tshiebwe: 2Way) @ Rockets
• 8:00 | Hawks @ Bulls
• 10:00 | Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk: questionable) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe: questionable)
• 10:30 (NBA TV) Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington) @ Clippers (Boston)