'Unsung hero' wins Lakers thriller; nervous injury waits for two ...

LeBron James and Steph Curry delivered a Christmas (US time) classic as the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 115-113 on Thursday.

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In a back-and-forth battle which saw James (31 points, 10 assists) and Curry (38 points, six assists) trade buckets until the very end, it was Austin Reaves who turned game-winner.

Reaves, who had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, beat Andrew Wiggins to the rim to lay in the winning shot as Curry couldn’t connect with the last-second heave.

Richard Jefferson described Reaves as an “unsung hero” in commentary and his production was particularly valuable with Anthony Davis managing just seven minutes before leaving with an ankle sprain.

The Lakers looked to be in a comfortable position late in the third quarter, leading 84-73 and all while James was getting a timely rest.

But Golden State started the fourth strong to get back to 88-83, forcing JJ Redick to call a timeout, before James re-entered the game with six minutes left and the Lakers up 97-90.

Curry soon followed suit and just as it looked like he was going to will the Warriors to victory, Reaves hit a triple and then a floater soon after to put the Lakers ahead 102-94 with 3:48 left.

Curry and James traded 3-pointers soon after, but the Warriors were still down by eight points with two minutes on the clock and in need of a stop.

They were able to get just that on a few possessions and with 25 seconds left, the Warriors suddenly found themselves only trailing 109-107.

Golden State immediately chose to foul, putting Max Christie at the free throw line and he made both to put the Lakers up 111-107 but Curry answered back with a tough 3 to make it a one-point game entering the final 10 seconds.

Reaves then made both free throws to push the buffer out to three points before, again, Curry drained a deep triple to tie it with 6.3 seconds to go.

All eyes were on James but in the end it was Reaves who won it for the Lakers, capping off an impressive night which also saw him record his first triple-double of the season.

MAVS’ LUKA CONCERN AFTER LOSS TO TIMBERWOLVES

It was far from a Merry Christmas (US time) for the Dallas Mavericks who lost their Slovenian star Luka Doncic with a calf injury in the second quarter of their 105-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Doncic, who had scored 14 points, limped out of the game and did not return, with ESPN reporting the Mavericks are bracing for him to miss “an extended period of time”.

The Mavericks did manage a brave comeback attempt without him, before falling short.

Anthony Edwards put up 26 points for Minnesota.

The Timberwolves led 57-40 at the half and extended that advantage to 28-points before Dallas, led by Kyrie Irving who made 39 points, started to work their way back into the contest.

It was close at the end but Irving missed a three-point shot that would have given Dallas the lead in the last minute and a two-foot shot from Edwards and a pair of free throws from Julius Randle made sure of the win.

“Kyrie to me is the greatest point guard and so when he gets going, it’s tough to stop him,” said Edwards.

“We got a couple of big stops down the stretch and got some buckets so that helped us,” he added.

‘UNBELIEVABLE’ WEMBY STARS... BUT KNICKS WIN THRILLER

Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks edged Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 in a Christmas Day thriller at Madison Square Garden.

French star Wembanyama put up 42 points with 18 rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs but Bridges took the glory with a brilliant 15-point fourth-quarter display that left him with a season-high 41 points and the win.

“It was great, man. I think just to feel the excitement from the crowd, my teammates, my coaches, this is who I play for,” Bridges told broadcaster ABC.

“They give me the energy, give me the confidence to go out there and play,” he added.

Wembanyama was just three points short of the Christmas debut scoring record of 45 set by Wilt Chamberlain in his rookie season in 1959.

The 20-year-old, who stands 7-foot-3 (2.21m), was 16-31 on shooting and made six of 16 three-point throws and while Bridges took the applause from the home crowd, he was quick to praise the Frenchman.

“From 40 feet out, from right under the rim, from 15 feet out, he’s just unbelievable, just to see what he’s doing, credit to him and how much work he has put in,” said Bridges.

The 28-year-old Bridges, who was traded from the Brooklyn Nets in July, shot 17-25 from the field and was six for nine on three-point attempts as his team improved to 20-10.

San Antonio were just a point behind with two minutes remaining before Bridges made back-to-back jumpers to open up a five-point lead.

Josh Hart came up big for New York at the death, grabbing two misses to ensure the win and leave the Spurs on a 15-15 record.

Karl-Anthony Towns with 21 points and Jalen Brunson with 20 points and nine assists were crucial for the Knicks in the win.

Jeremy Sochan supported Wembanyama with 21 points for the Spurs.

Later, defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers while LeBron James renews his rivalry with Steph Curry when the Los Angeles Lakers are at the Golden State Warriors.

76ERS UPSET CELTICS AFTER EMBIID SCARE

Injury-prone 76ers star Joel Embiid hurt his ankle in a pregame fall but was able to start and showed his importance with 27 points, nine rebounds and the game clinching free throws at the end to clinch the win for the 11-17 Philadelphia.

Tyres Maxey scored 33 points and made 12 assists with his 13 points in the fourth quarter crucial as Philadelphia, who had led by 16 at the break, recovered from Boston’s third quarter rally.

Jayson Tatum top scored for the Celtics with 32 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds.