Christmas Day Recap

For the casual fan, Christmas Day is the de facto start to the NBA season. The slate of games lets fans know who's good this year by placing the year's marquee matchups all on one day. Christmas also lets them know that the NBA has an endless amount of shoe and uniform ideas that get flashier every year. So, here's how the today's five games went down.

Celtics 93, Nets 76
As expected, this one got chippy late after the ejection-filled meeting they had last month. The Nets failed to show up for their first Christmas Day game in Brooklyn. Shooting 40% on the day and a poor 58% at the line, the Nets couldn't climb back in the game after a rough second quarter buried them by 14 at half. Rajon Rondo lead all scorers with 19 points, helped by Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green giving strong efforts off the bench. Kevin Garnett dominated the floor defensively, directing the game while fans heard his chatter (he was mic'd). Deron Williams could never get anything going for Brooklyn, and now these teams share identical 14-13 records.

Lakers 100, Knicks 94
This was a thoroughly entertaining back and forth contest that featured Kobe and Carmelo (the NBA's two leading scorers) duking it out for all 48 minutes. The Lakers found a pulse thanks to Steve Nash and his 16 point-11 assist game. Metta World Peace was huge off the bench with 20 points while containing Melo in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard had a 14 point-12 rebound game, but was 6-9 at the line, continuing his lukewarm foul shooting. While the first three quarters were dominated by the two superstar scorers, the Lakers won thanks to a better team effort in the fourth. Only J.R. Smith helped Melo carry the load for New York, while Pau Gasol scored the biggest basket for L.A. His dunk with 12 seconds left put his team up 5, effectively clinching a fifth straight Laker win.

Heat 103, Thunder 97
This rematch lived up to the hype with the Heat walking away six-point winners over the Thunder. LeBron and Durant played like the best two players on Earth, both carrying their teams with not only scoring, but playmaking too. In the end, it was LeBron who found Chris Bosh for a dunk, putting the Heat up three with less than a minute. The Thunder's chances ended on the ensuing possession when Durant and Russell Westbrook both missed three-pointers that could have tied the game. Westbrook then got a technical for punching the scorers table and Ray Allen his three free-throws to seal the win for Miami. LeBron got good games around him from Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers to help the Heat win this one. This game had all the intensity of a playoff game and after seeing these teams play, a Finals rematch wouldn't surprise anyone.

Rockets 120, Bulls 97
This game got away from the Bulls in the second quarter and was downright ugly mid-way through the third. Omer "Turkish Hammer" Asik had a great return to Chicago with a 20 point-18 rebound game. James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons all had good games for Houston, whose starting lineup outscored Chicago's 99 to 47. The Rockets just shot lights out in the second and third quarters and the offensively-limited Bulls just couldn't hang. For what it's worth, Nate Robinson lead all scorers with 27 points as he was dominant during garbage time.

Clippers 112, Nuggets 100
The Clips scored 42 in the second quarter and never looked back, winning a franchise-record 14th straight game. In a matchup of two of the deepest teams in the West, the Nuggets were outclassed and just looked like a playoff team getting crushed by a legitimate contender. Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford lead the way off the bench for L.A., while Chris Paul and Blake Griffin didn't have to do much in the second half of this one. The Clippers (yes, the Clippers) are the hottest team in the league right now, and were just way too much for the 15-14 Nuggets to handle.