The NBA delivered two more highlights for Christmas: The Sixers defeated the Celtics in a close duel, led by an extremely strong Joel Embiid. In the West, the Suns, with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, dominated the Nuggets.
In the Eastern Conference classic, the Philadelphia 76ers secured a hard-fought 118-114 victory against the Boston Celtics. Joel Embiid was in strong form despite a moment of shock during the warm-up and contributed 27 points and nine rebounds. He kept his nerve in the decisive moments and made important free throws.
However, Tyrese Maxey played even more spectacularly, shining with 33 points and 12 assists. His energy in the final quarter was crucial to keeping the Celtics at bay. Boston, led by Jayson Tatum (32 points, 15 rebounds), fought back into the game despite trailing by 16 points, but was unable to catch up completely. Another bitter setback for the Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis had to leave the game with an ankle injury.
The Sixers, now 11th (11-17) in the East, underlined their ambitions in the Eastern Conference, while Boston (22-8) suffered their first back-to-back defeats of the season.
Suns leave Nuggets no chance
The Suns triumphed in the Phoenix desert, beating the Denver Nuggets 110-100. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal led the team with 27 points each, while Tyus Jones provided important momentum with 17 points and Monte Morris (11 points) from the bench.
Denver held out for a long time, led by Nikola Jokic, who contributed 25 points and 15 rebounds. But in the fourth quarter, he was barely visible. Michael Porter Jr. (22 points) and Russell Westbrook (17 points from the bench) tried to fill the gap, but could never really be dangerous to the Suns. Another setback for the Nuggets: Aaron Gordon had to leave the game early due to calf problems.
The Suns controlled the pace and proved with their strong squad why they remain a serious contender in the West (8th place, 15-14). Denver, on the other hand, still has some work to do if they want to catch up with the top of the conference (5th place, 16-12).