With everyone in the holiday spirit, basketball fans around the world got a chance to see potential playoff matchups on Christmas Day. The Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 109-95. Oklahoma City Thunder fell short in the 4th Quarter to the Houston Rockets 113-109. The Boston Celtics battled their East Coast rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers winning in Overtime 121-114. The Utah Jazz crushed the Portland Trail Blazers 117-96.
However, the game of the night was the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Golden State Warriors. Lebron James gave an impressive performance in his 21 minutes of play 17 points (6/11 FG%), 13 rebounds and 5 assists. However, this game was nearly another Warriors victory due to Lebron James falling in the 3rd Quarter to what was later diagnosed as a strained groin injury. As expected, the back to back champions attempted to takeover the game with Lebron’s absence but Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green we’re unable to execute on the offense. The Lakers' young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart & Kyle Kuzma stepped up to the challenge with consistent defense leading to turnovers and easy transition scoring. The Lakers seasoned vets (Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Tyson Chandler & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) gave the team IQ a much needed boost executing great offensive plays and driving to the basket to draw fouls. The shining star of the 4th Quarter was 21yr old Center Ivica Zubac, who not only became the primary rim protector of the night playing 31 minutes ,but also scored most of his 18pts & 11 Rebounds in the 4th Quarter to help the Lakers blowout the Warriors 127-101.
Unfortunately, this great Christmas victory came with a price: Lebron James got his 1st significant groin injury which will have him sidelined for the next several games according to ESPN’s Senior Analyst Adrian Wojnarowski. In my opinion, losing Lebron James -- during his recovery will be the ultimate test for the rest of the team. Under the expected guidance and leadership of the front office of Magic Johnson & the Lakers seasoned veterans, the young core will either continue to step up and show the Laker fans why they are the future of the franchise or fall from the Top 5 teams in the Western Conference expected to make a return to the NBA Playoffs to falling under .500 and missing the playoffs for the 6th season in a row.