‘Twas a day filled with monstrous dunks and statement making blocks, through the lane finger rolls and season ending field goals. ‘Twas a very merry morning, afternoon, and night in sports-indeed-but, who took an L? Who did in fact succeed? If you’d like to find out, please do continue to read!
The day kicked off at the historic Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple as the New York Knicks, who had won their last 5 straight home games, faced off against the Philadelphia 76ers “still processing” and coming into the matchup looking to snap a 5-game losing streak.
Despite a career best 22 rebounds and season-high 31 points from Center, Enes Kanter, it was not enough to edge the Knicks over the visiting Sixers- led by both Joel Embiid’s double-double numbers of 25 points and 16 rebounds as well as point guard, JJ Redick’s 24 points on the road. Final Score-105-98; 76ers now 15-18 on the season as the Knicks remain a game over .500 at 17-16
Jumping from the right coast to the left, the highly anticipated rematch of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the defending champion, Golden State Warriors, who last met in Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals, tipped off just after 3PM EST at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.
The still Stephen Curry-less Warriors, who has missed 8 straight games with an ankle injury, battled on both ends of the floor with LeBron and Co. into the final minutes of the game. It was then; score 95-92- Warriors with the lead and less than a minute to play- a controversial no-call was made on a Durant defended/LeBron drive to the basket that could have altered the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, the Warriors came away with the W- final score of 99-92 and improved their record on the season to 27-7.
Swifting gears to the pigskin and gridiron- the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off a tough and highly debated loss of their own at home last week against the New England Patriots, showed up in Houston to face the injury ridden Texans Monday night, looking to quiet the critics and “bye” more time in the playoffs… and they did just that.
After losing their star wide receiver and league MVP candidate, Antonio Brown, the week prior to a calf injury, the Steelers needed a big offensive night from their leader, Big Ben, and his other favorite targets including running back, Le’Veon Bell, and wide receivers, Martavis Bryant and rookie out of USC, JuJu Smith-Schuster. Pittsburgh’s commanding performance, leading to a 34-6 win, allowed them to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs and spare more time for Antonio Brown to come back healthier, stronger, and ready for the grind of January football.
Final Wrap Up!
Eagles run away with #1 seed in the NFC- eliminating the Oakland Raiders from playoff contention in 19-10 win.
Despite home court advantage, the Boston Celtics fell short to the Washington Wizards, 111-103, thanks to the guard duo contributions of Bradley Beal (25 points) and John Wall (21 points).
Thunder top Rockets at home as former teammates, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, went head-to-head in OKC. Westbrook leading the big three with 31 points- the final score being 112-107, improving the Thunder season record to 19-15.
Rounding out the night, the Minnesota Timberwolves visited the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, who were without both Lonzo Ball (sprained left shoulder) and Brandon Ingram (quad injuries). It was the first Christmas Day game for the Timberwolves and with the help of both Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson scoring 23 points a piece, adding in Karl-Anthony Towns 21 points on the side- the franchise was able to grant themselves a Christmas wish with a 121-104 road win- improving their season record to 21-13.
Written by Chanel Ray- thanks for reading!
Comments