Another exciting NBA Christmas takeover is in the books, and the league had no plans for a post-holiday break. Just a day after Christmas, there was a big 10-game slate on for Wednesday night.
To start the night we had two exciting contests. First, the Phoenix Suns snuck past the Orlando Magic in overtime. Then, the Toronto Raptors came back from a 17-point deficit to snap the Miami Heat’s five-game winning streak in a game that went down to the wire.
Also, the West’s first-place team, the Denver Nuggets lost on the road to the San Antonio Spurs, who are fighting to get back in the playoff picture. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans dropped a close game to the Mavericks in Dallas.
To close out the night, the Los Angeles Clippers nearly blew a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter, but hung on to beat the Sacramento Kings in Los Angeles.
Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday night’s NBA action, along with Thursday’s schedule.
NBA scores for Wednesday, Dec. 26
*All times Eastern
- Detroit Pistons 106, Washington Wizards 95 (Box Score)
- Phoenix Suns 122, Orlando Magic 120 (Box Score) — OT
- Toronto Raptors 106, Miami Heat 104 (Box Score)
- Brooklyn Nets 134, Charlotte Hornets 132 — 2OT (Box Score)
- Indiana Pacers 129, Atlanta Hawks 121 (Box Score)
- Memphis Grizzlies 95, Cleveland Cavaliers 87 (Box Score)
- Minnesota Timberwolves 119, Chicago Bulls 94 (Box Score)
- San Antonio Spurs 111, Denver Nuggets 103 (Box Score)
- Dallas Mavericks 122, New Orleans Pelicans 119 (Box Score)
- Los Angeles Clippers 127, Sacramento Kings 118 (Box Score)
NBA schedule for Thursday, Dec. 27
*All times Eastern
Luka nearly gets triple-double
Rookie Luka Doncic did it all for the Mavericks on Wednesday in their win over the Pelicans, and he fell just one rebound shy of his first career triple-double.
Rose gets MVP chants in Chicago
Wolves guard Derrick Rose may have had a rough go of things in his tenure with the Bulls because of injuries, but the Chicago fans clearly still appreciate their former MVP. The whole stadium erupted in “MVP” chants when Rose went to the free throw line in the fourth quarter, showing their love for the Chicago native.
Leonard drops 30 in Raptors’ win over Heat
The Raptors were without Kyle Lowry on Wednesday night, but Kawhi Leonard stepped up to make sure that didn’t matter. He helped lead the Raptors back from a 17-point deficit on the road, as they snapped the Heat’s five-game winning streak with a two-point victory. Along with hitting a clutch jumper down the stretch, Leonard finished with 30 points and eight rebounds.
Booker comes up clutch vs. Magic
The Suns ended up needing overtime to take care of the Magic, but they were only in that position because of some late-game heroics from Devin Booker. He scored seven straight points at the end of regulation to put the Suns in front. For the game, he finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Anderson meets Oladipo at the rim
Victor Oladipo thought he was cruising in for a slam against the Hawks, but Justin Anderson had other ideas. Anderson rose and met Oladipo at the rim for a strong rejection.
Whiteside spins and slams on Ibaka, then rejects him twice
Hassan Whiteside has been known to throw down an impressive dunk, but he usually doesn’t do so by putting the ball on the deck and executing a nice spin move like he did here.
After getting the better of Ibaka on the offensive end, he did so on the other end later in the half. He got up for two big blocks on Ibaka twice in one possession.
Harris beats the halftime buzzer
The Nets went into halftime with a five-point lead over the Hornets thanks to a buzzer-beating triple from Joe Harris. With just a few seconds remaining, Harris wheeled off a screen and drilled the 3, which sent his teammates into spontaneous dance moves on the bench.
Mahinmi throws it down on the break
It’s not every day that a Ian Mahinmi poster dunk comes across the timeline, but such was the case on Wednesday. Out on the break against the Magic, the big Frenchman threw it down with authority.
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