Nets hold back rally late, lose fifth Lakers in a row

The NBA’s Christmas holiday schedule continues with a highlight game between the Nets and the Lakers.

Brooklyn, which has returned to action after the last three games were postponed due to the NBA’s COVID health and safety protocols, is without MVP contender Kevin Durant, who joined the protocols over the past week, but The Nets got a big boost as James Harden returned to watch his first action since December 10

The Lakers, who entered the break with a 16-17 record, were in dire need of a win but fell 23 points to the soaring Nets, led by Harden’s 36-point double (36-10-10), and a Career Night for Australian Patty Mills, who finished with 34 points (8/13 from distance) and 7 assists.

THAN: History of LeBron on Christmas Day

The Lakers were led by James, who had 39 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and Russell Westbrook, who had another double (13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists), but failed to win. their four-game losing streak. The loss now brings the Lakers down to two under 500 games in the season.

THAN: Watch live Lakers vs. Nets with Sling TV

Lakers vs. Live Update. Nets, highlights from the NBA Christmas game

Fourth quarter finish: Nets 122, Lakers 115

James Harden 36 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

Patty Mills 34 points (career high), 7 assists

LeBron James 39 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

Russell Westbrook 13 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists

10:37 pm . – Tied at 115! The laner came back from 23 points down to level the score to just 45 seconds in the final.

10:27 pm – Patty Mills scored his 31st point of the night and ended a 5:41-minute drought in Brooklyn without a bucket of water.

10:19 pm – Brooklyn called to say the time was up. The Lakers are running 15-0 to take the lead to 8 – 107-99.

10:17 pm . – Teamwork creates dream jobs. This coin from Patty Mills is so sweet.

10:14 pm . – You can’t stop Patty Mills, you can only hope to restrain him.

End of Q3: Nets 102, Lakers 82

James Harden 32 points, 8 assists

Patty Mills 25 points, 6 assists

LeBron James 26 points, 7 rebounds

Russell Westbrook 13 points, 11 assists

9:51 pm . – James Harden currently has 2 assists, 3 rebounds missing three times.

9:46 pm – Patty Mills (22 points) had the 10th game to score 20 points of the season. That’s the highest in a new season in the game by 20 points for the Mills.

9:43 pm . – Beard has 30 pieces and we’re only halfway through the third semester.

9:40 pm . – At the beginning of the third term. The Nets lead 76-72 with 9:28 left.

Second quarter finish: Nets 66, Lakers 62

James Harden 23 points, 6 assists

Patty Mills 19 points, 1 assist

Lebron James 22 points, 7 rebounds

Malik Monk 10 points, 2 rebounds,

9:18 pm – Russell Westbrook fouled Patty Mills fourth with 2.9 seconds remaining, but the Nets are challenging the call.

9:14 pm – The Lakers returned in round three. They were 17 behind. The score was 59-56.

9:11 pm – LeBron James is officially the all-time Christmas Day goalscorer, surpassing the great, late Kobe Bryant.

9:04 pm . – The Lakers are awarded a penalty when 3:51 is left in the half. The Nets will throw a free throw for the rest of the term.

8:55 pm . – Good THT defense leads to easy transition buckets. Lakers in the 12th round.

8:50 pm – LeBron to Melo to Malik. Bucket.

First quarter end: Nets 38, Lakers 23

8:39 pm – There are 12 minutes in the book and the Nets have built a substantial lead.

Brooklyn shot 16 to 24 (66.7%) from the field and had a game-high 13-point lead from Patty Mills. James Harden, who is back after two weeks of competition, has nine points, three goals and three assists.

Los Angeles was much colder, shooting 7 to 21 (33.3 percent) from the field and 1 to 8 (12.5 percent) from the deep. LeBron James has scored six points but it is Stanley Johnson, who signed with the team yesterday, that leads the Lakers with seven points.

8:29 pm – Brooklyn is still hot when he shoots 10-16 from the field to keep the 8-point advantage.

3:50 is still in the first frame and the Nets have a 24-16 lead.

James Harden and Patty Mills each scored six points for the Nets while LeBron James scored six for his own to overtake the Lakers.

8:15 pm – The Nets got in early, taking a quick 8 point lead to force the Lakers to call a timeout.

Brooklyn leads 14-6 with 8:15 left in the first game.

The Nets are shooting 6 to 7 from the field while the Lakers are shooting 2 to 6 very early on.

8:10 pm – LeBron James was first on the board tonight, pulling out his middle jump rope to get in on the action.

LeBron is currently 10 points behind, beating Kobe Bryant as the all-time leader in the NBA’s Christmas Day.

Pregame

7:40 pm – Starting for the Lakers: Russell Westbrook, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker, LeBron James and Dwight Howard.

The Nets will start with a starting line-up consisting of Patty Mills, James Harden, Bruce Brown, DeAndre’ Bembry and Nic Claxton.

3:10 pm – The #1 game at Crypto.com Arena.

1:10 pm – Avery Bradley and Malik Monk will be active again, increasing protection rotation seems to slow James Harden.

How to watch the Lakers vs. Nets on Christmas Day

• Day: Saturday, December 25
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• Channel: ABC, ESPN
• Direct: Watch ESPN | Sling TV

NBA Christmas Holiday Schedule

Five games are split between ESPN and ABC. All times below are in Eastern Standard Time.

You can stream all the action on Sling TV .