NBA highlights on Christmas: It belonged to superstars

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The star players of three teams helped their squads win the 2018-19 NBA regular season Christmas Day games.

Milwaukee Bucks 109-95 New York Knicks

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34, nicknamed the "Greek Freak", of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks in the game. /VCG Photo

Giannis Antetokounmpo, nicknamed the "Greek Freak" played his first NBA Christmas game at the "Mecca of basketball", the Madison Square Garden (MSG). It was also the first time for his Milwaukee Bucks to be picked to play on this special day in 41 years and the fifth time in total in the team's history. By contrast, the New York Knicks will be playing their 53rd Christmas game, the most of all NBA teams.

However, that's probably the only advantage the Knicks had on Tuesday. Antetokounmpo, 24, dropped 30 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and two blocks by making 13 of 21 shots in the game. He reached double in both scoring and rebounding after the first three quarters. One thing for sure is that the "Greek Freak" will be on the court for Christmas more often in the future.

Oklahoma City Thunder 109-113 Houston Rockets

James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots under the defense of Steven Adams #12 of the Oklahoma City Thunder. /VCG Photo

As the familiar faces of NBA Christmas games, Russell Westbrook and James Harden met again at the Toyota Center on behalf of respectively Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. Though Westbrook almost put down triple-double (21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists) and surpassed Scottie Pippen in total steals on Christmas (28), he and his teammates could not stop James Harden.

With 41 points, six rebounds and seven assists, James Harden broke the scoring record of the Rockets for the special day previously held by Hakeem Olajuwon (30 points) and placed him No. 2 best Christmas single-game scorer in today's league, next to Kevin Durant who dropped 44 points in 2010. This was also the seventh straight 30+ point game for Harden, not only the best in his career, but also the second longest in Houston's history right after Moses Malone (13 consecutive games in the 1981-82 season).

Philadelphia 76ers 114-121 Boston Celtics

Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics shoots in front of Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers. /VCG Photo

How desperate were the Philadelphia 76ers for the win? Ben Simmons played 37 minutes on the court and that was the least of the team's five first-line players. With Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid playing over 40 minutes, the average time played of Philadelphia's first squad was 39.4 minutes. Embiid did everything he could by putting down 34 points and 16 rebounds, including making all 12 free throws. Butler scored 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. Simmons nearly took another triple-double (11 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists).

However, the Boston Celtics have Kyrie Irving. The five-time All-Star guard drooped 40 points and 10 rebounds, the second highest scoring in Boston's history next to Tom Heinsohn and his 45 points in 1961. The details of Irving's scoring were even better: He got 16 in the first quarter, tied the score 108-108 in the last 20 seconds with a perimeter shot and most importantly, made two consecutive three-pointers in the overtime, one to regain the lead (115-114) and the other to extend it (118-114), to help the Celtics win the game.

Los Angeles Lakers 127-101 Golden State Warriors

Rajon Rondo #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the ball under the defense of Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors. /VCG Photo

No one probably would have foreseen the result of this game: the Los Angeles Lakers smashed the Golden State Warriors by almost 30 points and they did it when LeBron James was absent from the court for over one and a half quarters for injury. Though the Warriors launched 12-0 run in the third quarter to narrow the score difference down to three points (76-73), young men of the Lakers stood out under the leadership of Rajon Rondo who put down 15 points and 10 assists. Kyle Kuzma and Ivica Zubac respectively dropped 19 points and 18 points plus 11 rebounds.

Before James returned to the locker room, he already scored 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. He collided with Draymond Green in the third quarter and said he "felt a pot". Though he walked out of the court by himself, James did not return and watched the rest of the game in the locker room. According to ESPN, he suffered a strained left groin and will undergo an MRI for further details of his injury.

Portland Trail Blazers 96-117 Utah Jazz

Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz dunks in front of C. J. McCollum #3 and Al-Farouq Aminu #8 of the Portland Trail Blazers. /VCG Photo

The last game on Christmas day ended relatively disappointing for fans as Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers dropping 20 points became the highest score on the court. However, Portland's fans were hurt even more because not only their team lost by 21 points but also they did not seem to stand any chance of winning the game as Chinese basketball Yang Yi said in broadcasting: "The Trail Blazers were 'bullied' by the Jazz."

By contrast, the Utah Jazz continued their dominance of the Trail Blazers since their 30-point win over the same team (120-90) four days ago. Thanks to their better height and stronger bodies, the Jazz kept their aggressiveness, especially in defense the whole time by making their opponent uncomfortable even handling the ball. Utah's French center Rudy Gobert turned their paint into a no-fly zone with 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks.