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NBA highlights on Dec. 31: How did teams wrap up last day of 2021?
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LeBron James (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

LeBron James (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 139-106 at Moda Center on Friday to achieve their second win of seven games.

LeBron James continued to extend his record of scoring 30+points in straight games to seven as he dropped 43 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. As the starting center of the purple and gold, he tore the Trail Blazers' defense apart from both inside and outside. James drained five 3-pointers and had 20 points in the paint.

Russell Westbrook got a triple-double for the fourth consecutive game by putting down 15 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and two steals. Though he missed all three attempts from downtown, he was 5-6 in the middle range.

Damian Lillard (#0) of the Portland Trail Blazers loses control of the ball in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Damian Lillard (#0) of the Portland Trail Blazers loses control of the ball in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

The Trail Blazers had a similar centerless squad as the Lakers at home. Still, the difference between the two sides was: they had no idea how to stop James, while the Lakers knew how to limit Damian Lillard.

Having played more than 32 minutes on Friday night, Lillard never found his rhythm thanks to the constant trapping of the Lakers. He achieved good efficiency charging the rim by shooting at 4-6 in the paint and 7-9 at the free-throw line. However, Lillard missed seven of eight attempts at the 3-point line.

Lillard's teammates were unable to offer him much support as the rest of Rip City went 11-34 from downtown. Their underperformance in the long-range enabled the Lakers to stay small without paying the cost.

DeMar DeRozan (#11) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

DeMar DeRozan (#11) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

DeRozan beats the buzzer to lift Bulls to East No. 1

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers 108-106 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday after DeMar DeRozan beat the buzzer from the 3-point line.

The Bulls rose to lead the Eastern Conference after the victory with a 23-10 record.

The Pacers were leading 106-105 with the ball when there were 12.4 seconds left of the game and 0.7 seconds left on the shot clock. Justin Holiday's attempt for an alley-oop connection with Caris LeVert failed. The Bulls had the ball and two timeouts, but they didn't use them.

DeMar DeRozan (L) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

DeMar DeRozan (L) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

DeRozan dribbled to the front court, facing Torrey Craig. Nikola Vucevic set a screen for DeRozan for him to face Domantas Sabonis in mismatch, but DeRozan did not drive immediately so Craig again switched with Sabonis.

DeRozan was 7-23 in field goals (FGs) and 0-2 in 3-pointers at this time. He had averaged only 2.2 triple attempts per made only 0.8 per game this season. Nonetheless, he still took the shot in the face of Craig, who has been a solid wing defender in his career.

The basketball fell into the Pacers' net before the clock hit 0:00. The Bulls secured their sixth win in a row.

"By the time I looked up at the clock, I said, 'All right, I got to make something happen," DeRozan said of his last shot. "I just tried to get enough space, get it up, get it over and as soon as it left my hand it felt good."

Kristaps Porzingis (#6) of the Dallas Mavericks shoots in the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Kristaps Porzingis (#6) of the Dallas Mavericks shoots in the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Mavericks remain in playoff zone

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 112-96 at Golden 1 Center on Friday, getting the revenge for the loss on Wednesday.

This was the fourth straight game of for the Mavericks on the road and the 10th game without Luka Doncic who tested positive for COVID-19 and has been battling lingering ankle injury.

As a result, Jalen Brunson and Kristaps Porzingis had to shoulder the team's offensive responsibility. The two scored combined 47 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists in Friday's game. The other three starters of the Mavericks all reached double-digit points as well.

The Mavericks remain eighth in the Western Conference after the win.

Tyrese Haliburton (#0) of the Sacramento Kings drives toward the rim in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Tyrese Haliburton (#0) of the Sacramento Kings drives toward the rim in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

On the Kings' side, Tyrese Haliburton was solid as usual with a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists after going 4-5 behind the arc. The other three guards that the team placed their faith in, failed to make due contributions.

De'Aaron Fox was 3-14 in FGs and 1-3 in 3-pointers to get 10 points and seven assists. Buddy Hield was 3-7 in FGs and 1-4 in triples to get eight points and three assists. Davion Mitchell missed seven of his eight FG attempts, including three from downtown, to get only two points.

The Kings made the right decision firing Vlade Divac as their general manager. Now they have to make similar decisions choosing the right young guards to build their lineup around them.

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami Heat posts up in the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (#22) of the Miami Heat posts up in the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Jimmy Butler continues to grow better returning from injury

The Miami Heat defeated the Houston Rockets 120-110 at Toyota Center on Friday to get their fifth win in a row.

Jimmy Butler put down 37 points for the Heat in his second game after coming back from injury. The Heat missed two starting players of Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo so the rest of the team had to step up.

Unfortunately, neither Kyle Lowry nor Tyler Herro was in their best form as the two missed 20 FG attempts, including 13 at the 3-point line.

Butler gave the Heat something to rely on offensively by going 7-15 in the middle range, 2-3 behind the arc and 11-11 at the free throw line. The Heat stayed close in the top competition of the Eastern Conference and established a safe lead over the fifth Cleveland Cavaliers.

Trae Young (#11) of the Atlanta Hawks shoots in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Trae Young (#11) of the Atlanta Hawks shoots in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Young, Capela lift Hawks over Cavaliers

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-118 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Friday, ending their awkward three-loss-streak.

Trae Young and Clint Capela made the biggest contributions to the Hawks win. Young dropped 35 points and 11 assists after making five 3-pointers and eight free throws. Capela dominated the paint with 18 points, 23 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass and four blocks.

Veteran Kevin Love was the best-performing Cavalier at home on Friday. He drained sven shots from downtown and stepped to the free throw line 10 times to score 35 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. After over two years of unpleasant time, he finally found his role in the team by offering efficient work off the bench.

Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors dunks in the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Scotiabank Center in Toronto, Canada, December 31, 2021. /CFP

Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors dunks in the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Scotiabank Center in Toronto, Canada, December 31, 2021. /CFP

Clippers work hard, but they lack talents

The Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers at Scotiabank Center on Friday.

Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby displayed their talents in a brutal way in front of the incomplete squad of the Clippers. The three had 82 points, 29 rebounds, 16 assists and eight steals. Siakam filled every blank on his stats sheet. He was everywhere on the court.

The Clippers lacked two of their aces Kawhi Leonard and Paul George because of injuries. Neither did they have starting center Ivica Zuba or key member of small-ball lineup Nicolas Batum due to COVID-19 and injury respectively.

When a team had to rely on Eric Bledsoe and Terance Mann to launch offense, you know for sure that their offense would go smooth.

Ja Morant (#12) of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Ja Morant (#12) of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Unstoppable Morant walks over Spurs

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum on Friday, claiming the fourth straight win.

Ja Morant continued to show his complete skills by shooting at 3-3 at the 3-point line, 5-10 in the middle range and 4-5 under the rim. He dropped 30 points, six rebounds and eight assists, shining better than anyone else on the floor.

The Grizzlies as a whole were not at the best shooting form from downtown but they made it up with incredible energy in offensive rebounds (14-11) and steals (7-3).

This was the second consecutive loss for the Spurs and the beginning of a seven-game road trip. The team needs a little more offensive consistency instead of attacking like two different teams in the first and second half if they don’t want their record on the road to look to ugly.

Shai Gildeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives toward the rim in the game against the New York Knicks at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Shai Gildeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives toward the rim in the game against the New York Knicks at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Knicks see their winning-streak end

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New York Knicks 95-80 at Paycom Center on Friday, putting an end to the opponents three-game-winning-streak.

This was not the best-performing game for the young men of OKC as they shot at only 18-43 behind the arc and drew no more than seven free throws. Their ace Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed 15 of 24 FG attempts and five triples. He also committed four turnovers. Luguentz Fort went 2-12 in FGs to get only six points.

However, New York did worse. They missed 33 shots from downtown and were 30-81 in total in FGs. R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were the only two reaching double-digit points. The team had only 31 points in the second half.

Donovan Mitchell (#45) of the Utah Jazz does a fake move in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Donovan Mitchell (#45) of the Utah Jazz does a fake move in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., December 31, 2021. /CFP

Jazz rally in last quarter to beat Timberwolves

The Utah Jazz defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-108 ay Vivint Arena on Friday to extend their winning-streak to six games. They scored at least 110 points in all six games and reached 120+ in four of them.

The Jazz only made 11 triples in this game, which was below their average performance (15) of the season. Their victory was more built on the aggressive play that drew them 35 free throws at home. Both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert stepped to the free throw line 10 times. Bojan Bogdanovic was 9-9 there and he joined Gobert (14+16) for a double-double of 24 points, 12 rebounds.

Mitchell scored 25 points in the first three quarters but his biggest contributions took place in Q4. Having gone 5-7 in FGs, he led the Jazz to launch a 34-21 run in this quarter alone, rallying back from the 87-86 trail to victory.

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