Staff Reporter.
Otto Porter Jr shone on a rare start, to help the Golden State Warriors take top spot in the Western Conference with a 116-107 win over the Phoenix Suns.
With several players missing because of injury and Covid-19, Porter’s late flurry helped the Warriors pull away in the final two minutes.
In Los Angeles, James Harden returned to inspire the Brooklyn Nets, who held off a Lakers comeback to win 122-115.
After missing four games, Harden recorded his 63rd career triple-double.
He scored 36 points and had 10 assists and 10 rebounds, while in New York Kemba Walker posted his first triple-double since 2014.
The resurgent point guard had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists as the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-87.
Returning from Covid-19 protocols, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 36 points as the Milwaukee Bucks came from 19 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 117-113, while the Utah Jazz claimed a 120-116 win against the Dallas Mavericks.
Knicks 101, Hawks 87
Kemba Walker continued his resurgence as the New York point guard posted his first triple-double in almost eight years — and the first one ever by a Knicks player on Christmas Day — as the hosts led wire-to-wire in a win over Atlanta.
Walker, who was a healthy scratch for 10 straight games from November 27 through December 16 before returning to the lineup after the Knicks were ravaged by COVID-19 and injuries, finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in his first triple-double since April 4, 2014.
John Collins and Deion Wright each scored 20 points for the undermanned Hawks, who were missing superstar point guard Trae Young as well as Kevin Huerter, Danilo Gallinari and Onyeka Okongwu due to COVID-19 protocols.
Jazz 120, Mavericks 116
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points to lead Utah to a victory over visiting Dallas in the NBA’s Christmas Day nightcap in Salt Lake City.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 25 points, including four 3-pointers, Mike Conley contributed 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Rudy Gobert tallied 10 points with 11 rebounds as the Jazz won their third straight game.
Kristaps Porzingis, playing after missing two games with a sore right foot, and Jalen Brunson each scored 27 points to help the Mavericks make a game of it despite missing Luka Doncic and a handful of other players due to COVID-19.