Jaylen Brown knocked down his shots in the fourth quarter. And then he knocked down Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Brown scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth, and Jayson Tatum scored 41 for Boston on Sunday to help the Celtics beat Milwaukee 139-118 in a matchup of the top two teams in the NBA.
Tatum scored 20 in the third quarter, when the Celtics turned a one-point lead into a 100-86 edge. Brown took over in the fourth, contributing on defense with a pick that sent Antetokounmpo to the floor before he bounced back up and shoved Brown in the back.
“I thought I was playing pretty physical defense, nothing dirty. It seemed like it was a clean play,” Brown said. “Maybe he was a little but frustrated. He got up and threw an elbow at me, for whatever reason.”
After some jawing back and forth, Antetokounmpo was given a technical foul and went to the bench. The teams played the last 3:41 without further incident.
“There’s a difference between trying to be a tough guy and letting your opponent know that I’m not backing down, I’m not afraid of any challenge or any matchup whatsoever,” Brown said. “In that moment I was just letting him know that.”
Antetokounmpo, who fell hard on his hand on Friday night but was cleared to start, scored 27 points with nine rebounds. Asked about his team’s ability to limit the damage done by Antetokounmpo, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said, “Limiting’s crazy. He had 27.”
“He’s a great player,” he said, “and you’ve got to be disciplined against him.”
Jrue Holiday scored 23 for Milwaukee, which lost a third straight game for the first time this season. The Celtics have also struggled lately, losing five of six before winning back-to-back games.
Still, Boston (24-10) has the best record in the league, followed by Milwaukee (22-11).
“Obviously, we lost to them last year in the playoffs and we’ve had battles with them since I’ve gotten to Milwaukee,” said Bucks forward Pat Connaughton. “So they’re two teams that are very familiar with each other.”
“But it’s also December 25th. The NBA season is a long season, and we will be a much better basketball team by the end of this year than we are right now,” he said. “And I’m sure they will be, too.”
Phoenix Suns 125-128 Denver Nuggets (OT)
Nikola Jokic had another monster triple-double, Aaron Gordon threw down a pivotal dunk that stood up after a review in overtime and the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 128-125 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Jokic had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists for his 83rd career triple-double. The two-time reigning NBA MVP had a 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist outing a week ago.
“Sick,” Gordon said of the statistics Jokic is posting these days. “Those are video game numbers.”
It was the fourth 40-point, 15-rebound, 15-assist game in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. He joined Oscar Robertson (1961, 1962) and James Harden (2016).
Phoenix star Devin Booker lasted only 4:20 in his return from a groin injury, scoring two points after getting 58 against New Orleans in his previous start.
Jamal Murray tied it in regulation for Denver on a dunk with 10.7 seconds left. But it was Gordon’s OT slam that helped propel the Nuggets to the victory. At first, he was called for an offensive foul, but a review determined that Landry Shamet was moving, awarding Gordon the basket and a free throw.
Memphis Grizzlies 109-123 Golden State Warriors
Jordan Poole is far from a finished product, and the fourth-year guard showed both signs of brilliance and struggles controlling his emotions on the big Christmas Day basketball stage.
Poole scored 32 points – highlighted by emphatic one-handed slam off a pass from Draymond Green in the third – to outduel Ja Morant before being ejected early in the fourth, and the Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 on Sunday night in a rematch of the Western Conference semifinals won by Golden State.
“When we’re locked in and we’re playing for each other we’re a damn good team,” guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “The big thing for us is when we’re tested with adversity.”
Coach Steve Kerr wasn’t thrilled with the technicals, though he got one, too.
Morant scored 36 points while debuting his first Nike signature ‘Ja 1’ shoe for the Grizzlies’ first Christmas Day game.
The new @nike Ja 1s, folks, Morant’s first signature shoe! pic.twitter.com/vBbY4aPtnF
— Janie McCauley (@JanieMcCAP) December 26, 2022n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1607168220993314816″,”id”:”1607168220993314816″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”c4374dfd-ebce-4149-8aa7-9261aa43c52f”}}”>
Klay Thompson added 24 points and nine rebounds, DiVincenzo had 19 points and Ty Jerome came up big off the bench in the third for 14 points as the Warriors played their 10th straight Christmas game.
LA Lakers 115-124 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks had trailed from the opening bucket when the crowd erupted at the sight of retired star Dirk Nowitzki on the video boards late in the first half.
Nowitzki’s old team joined the celebration soon enough on the day of his statue unveiling.
Doncic scored 32 points, Tim Hardaway Jr had 16 of his 26 points in a huge third quarter for Dallas and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 on Sunday.
Christian Wood added 30 points and tied a career high with seven assists as the Mavericks finished off the Nowitzki celebration by winning just the second Christmas Day home game in club history.
Dallas took their first lead during a 51-point third quarter, the highest-scoring quarter on Christmas in NBA history and a league-best this season.
“I think we had to get the jitters out a little bit, some guys’ first time playing on Christmas,” Hardaway said. “Just being able to appreciate the opportunity.”
LeBron James scored 38 points, one shy of his season high, and the Lakers led by 12 early in the third before the Mavericks took over.
Philadelphia 76ers 119-112 New York Knicks
The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t playing well, and worse than that, Joel Embiid thought he was playing soft.
He and James Harden have the Sixers on too good a roll to stay down too