NBA highlights on Christmas Day: Luka 'Magic' explodes on Suns

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 128-114 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, a career night for their ace Luka Doncic.

Having shot 15-for-25 from the field, Doncic scored 50 points, six rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and three blocks. He had 17 points in the first quarter, becoming the sixth-youngest player to reach 10,000 career points. He did it in 358 games, the seventh-fastest in NBA history. Furthermore, Doncic drained eight triples to tie Patty Mills' record for the Christmas Day game. His 50 points were the third-highest for the occasion, tying the performance of Rick Barry, behind only 60 points by Bernard King and 59 by Wilt Chamberlain.

Neither the Mavericks nor the Suns qualify as good defensive teams. No one expected the Suns to contain Doncic or that the Mavericks could slow either Kevin Durant or Devin Booker down. Nonetheless, instead of going on as an open, bucket-exchanging contest, Monday's game was nearly one-sided in the second and the fourth quarters.

For the Suns choosing between whether to trap Doncic or go for a one-on-one was out of the question. Whoever tried to guard Doncic by himself was either tricked by his fake moves in the perimeter or powered aside next to the rim. The Suns were willing to double-team Doncic even at the cost of leaving his teammates open, but not only did he waste no time in setting up open buckets, he often beat through the two defenders easily to finish the attack by himself.

By contrast, both Durant and Booker were big disappointments on Monday night. The two together missed 15 of their 25 field goals (FGs), getting only 36 points in total. They delivered 17 assists, but committed nine turnovers as well. Durant looked listless most of the game. Booker was more energetic but used the best part of it for his conflict with Grant Williams.

Two role players, Grayson Allen and Chimezie Metu, saved the Suns from being smashed at home on Christmas Day. Allen knocked down eight of his 17 attempts from downtown to score team-high 32 points. Metu had a double-double of 23 points and 19 rebounds, including six on the offensive class. Their remarkable performances were why the Suns even gained the lead at the beginning of the fourth period.

The Suns continued to be left outside the Western Conference play-in tournament zone after suffering their third straight loss, and the ninth loss of their past 12 games. They may still have the patience to wait for Bradley Beal to come back, but that won't be a guarantee for playoff qualification if the rest of the team continues to play like this.

Other games on Monday (away teams come first):

Milwaukee Bucks 122-129 New York Knicks

The Knicks ended the Bucks' seven-game winning streak after Jalen Brunson scored 38 points at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks had six players with double-digit points and all of them did it at over 50 percent from the field. In fact, the team shot 54.3 percent in FGs as a whole and limited the opponents at 47.4 percent.

Golden State Warriors 114-120 Denver Nuggets

The Warriors failed to extend their winning streak to six games after losing to the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The team's backup unit outperformed their starting lineup, but were still outmatched by the opponents' starters led by Nikola Jokic. The Warriors did their best to contain Jokic's individual attack without letting him keep the rest of the Nuggets rolling, but Jokic responded to the defense with excellent offensive aggression that earned him 18 free throws. He made every one of them.

Boston Celtics 126-115 Los Angeles Lakers

Six Celtics dropped double-digit points to give their side the third straight win at Crypto.com in Los Angeles, California. Kristaps Porzingis came back after a five-day break and got a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Celtics couldn't stop Anthony Davis from getting 40 points and 13 rebounds, but he was the only Laker who could threaten the Celtics' defense. Not only did Davis had his way inside the paint, he also made two triples out of four attempts. LeBron James seemed to have injured himself in the second quarter. He managed to finish the game, but got only 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Philadelphia 76ers 113-119 Miami Heat

Joel Embiid missed Monday's game due to ankle injury, but the 76ers fought the Heat with resilience at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Tyrese Maxey missed 16 of his 20 FGs to get only 12 points and five assists thanks to the opponents' encirclement. Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mohamed Bamab carried the 76ers' offense by scoring 70 points and 20 rebounds in total.

The Heat missed Jimmy Butler because of calf injury, but rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. had his career night with 31 points and 10 rebounds. It's his first double-double in his career. He became the first player in the Heat's history to start in a Christmas Day game and the fifth rookie in league history to get at least 30 points and 10 rebounds on the occasion after Patrick Ewing, Walt Bellamy, Oscar Robertson and Chamberlain.