Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving and Miami’s Duncan Robinson each matched an NBA Christmas Day record with seven three-pointers on Friday to ignite lopsided victories, as the Heat stretch their holiday win streak to eight games.
Irving scored 37 points, hitting seven-of-10 three-point attempts in his return to Boston as the Nets ripped his former Celtics teammates 123-95.
“I’m glad we could put on a performance for everybody,” Irving said. “We’re definitely going to continue to progress every day.”
Photo: AP
Robinson finished with 23 points, hitting seven-of-13 from beyond the arc, as he led last season’s runners-up Miami over visiting New Orleans 111-98.
“Getting more and more comfortable every day,” Robinson said. “Last year was a great learning experience. We’re just trying to build on it. We’re happy to get this one.”
Also rolling to a holiday triumph were the Milwaukee Bucks, who had a game-high 31 points from Khris Middleton to beat the Golden State Warriors 138-99 — the second-most lopsided blowout in NBA Christmas history — thanks to a 72-43 Bucks edge in the second half.
Photo: AFP
“It was just moving the ball,” Middleton said. “We made some defensive mistakes, but we made some adjustments to correct those. We just wanted to put on a show.”
In Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 22, while each grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Celtics, who had a 54-51 halftime edge.
However, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the Nets seized a 86-77 edge after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth.
Photo: AP
The Nets became the first club since the 2008-2009 Los Angeles Lakers to win their first two games by 20 or more points.
“We can’t exceed our own expectations,” Irving said. “We know this is a long journey ahead.”
As for his return to Boston, he said: “I went to war with those guys. We’re going to continue to lean on each other as brothers off the floor and compete on it.”
Goran Dragic came off Miami’s bench to score 18 points and Bam Adebayo added 17 for the Heat, who bounced back from an opening loss on Wednesday against Orlando.
The Heat improved the NBA’s best Christmas record to 11-2, despite star Jimmy Butler scoring only four points in 16 minutes and not playing in the second half due to right ankle stiffness.
“When he goes down, it’s up to us to pick it up for him,” Robinson said. “I thought we did a good job of sticking with it and getting a good win today.”
Zion Williamson scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Pelicans, while Brandon Ingram added 28 points.
In Milwaukee, the Bucks hosted a Christmas game for the first time since their inaugural 1968 season as they chase their first NBA crown in 50 years.
Two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Milwaukee, while two-time MVP Stephen Curry had a team-best 19 points on six-of-17 shooting for the Warriors, who were without injured forward Draymond Green.
In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis scored 28 points, while LeBron James added 22 as defending NBA champions the Lakers routed Dallas 138-115 in the feature game of a record-setting Christmas slate.
James had a game-high 10 assists and seven rebounds in 31 minutes, while Davis contributed eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, and reserve Montrezl Harrell had 22 points for the Lakers, who played on the holiday for a 22nd consecutive year.
“We have a lot of offensive firepower,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
James, who turns 36 on Wednesday, rose to second on the NBA’s all-time Christmas points list with 383, passing Oscar Robertson by six to pull within 12 of matching the late Kobe Bryant’s career record.
It was the 10th Christmas victory in 15 holiday appearances by James, who equaled former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade for the most career Christmas NBA wins.
Vogel wants to ease the workload on James after the shortest off-season break in NBA history, but James is confident he can handle whatever comes.
“I train my body for whatever. I’m not your typical guy in his 18th season,” James said. “If you stay ready you never have to get ready.”
Slovakian star guard Luka Doncic scored 27 points for Dallas, but the Mavericks were outscored in every quarter and outrebounded 53-27.
“We got a really good team,” Davis said.
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