Nets hold off late rally, hand Lakers fifth straight loss

The NBA Christmas Day schedule continued with a standout showdown between the Nets and the Lakers.

Brooklyn, which is back in action after having postponed its last three games due to the NBA’s COVID health and safety protocols, did not have MVP candidate Kevin Durant, who entered the protocols last week, but the Nets got a big boost like James Harden. He came back to see his first action since December 10.

The Lakers, who entered the break with a 16-17 record, desperately needed a win, but fell 23 points to the Nets, led by Harden’s 36-point triple-double (36-10-10), and a Australian Patty Mills’ race night, who finished with 34 points (8 of 13 from distance) and 7 assists.

MORE: LeBron’s Story on Christmas Day

The Lakers were led by James, who had 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Russell Westbrook, who had another triple-double (13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists), but couldn’t break his four-game losing streak. The loss now leaves the Lakers two games under .500 on the season.

MORE: Watch Lakers vs. Nets Live on Sling TV

Lakers vs. Nets Live Updates, NBA Holiday Game Highlights

End of the fourth quarter: Nets 122, Lakers 115

James Harden 36 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

Patty Mills 34 points (career best), 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 lakers have come back from 23 points to level the score with just 45 seconds left in the period.

10:27 pm – Patty Mills scores her 31st point of the night and ends a 5:41-minute Brooklyn drought without a bucket.

10:19 pm – Brooklyn calls a time out. The Lakers have a 15-0 streak to reduce the lead to eight: 107-99.

10:17 pm . – Teamwork makes the dream work. This dime from Patty Mills is so sweet.

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

Third Quarter End: 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 is now two assists, three rebounds from triple-double.

9:46 pm – Patty Mills (22 points) has posted her 10th 20-point game of the season. That’s a new career high in a season for 20-point games for Mills.

9:43 pm . – Beard has 30 units and we are reaching the middle of the third quarter.

9:40 pm . – Back and forth at the beginning of the third trimester. The Nets lead 76-72 with 9:28 to play.

End of the second quarter: 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 fouls Patty Mills with 2.9 seconds remaining, but the Nets are challenging the decision.

9:14 pm – The Lakers are back at three. They are up to 17. The score is 59-56.

9:11 pm – LeBron James is officially the all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day beating out the late great Kobe Bryant.

9:04 pm . – Lakers on penalty with 3:51 remaining at the half. The Nets will shoot free throws for the remainder of the period.

8:55 pm . – A good THT defense leads to an easy transition cube. Lakers within 12.

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

First Quarter Ends: Nets 38, Lakers 23

8:39 pm – 12 minutes are on the books and the Nets have already built a substantial lead.

Brooklyn is shooting 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) from the field and is led by 13 points from Patty Mills, a game-high. James Harden, who is back after missing two weeks of action, has nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

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

8:29 pm – Brooklyn is still hot, shooting 10 of 16 from the field to hold an eight-point lead.

3:50 remains in the first frame and the Nets lead 24-16.

James Harden and Patty Mills have each scored six points for the Nets, while LeBron James has scored six points to set the pace for the Lakers.

8:15 pm – The Nets are on it early, taking a quick eight-point lead to force the Lakers to call a timeout.

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

The Nets are shooting 6-of-7 from the field, while the Lakers are shooting 2-of-6 early on.

8:10 pm – LeBron James is the first to get on the board tonight, exhausting a mid-range jump shot to start the action.

LeBron is now 10 points away from matching Kobe Bryant as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day.

Before the game

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

The Nets will go with a starting lineup of Patty Mills, James Harden, Bruce Brown, DeAndre ‘Bembry and Nic Claxton.

3:10 pm – Game no. 1 in Crypto.com Arena.

1:10 pm – Avery Bradley and Malik Monk will return to action, strengthening the rotation of guards that will seek to stop James Harden.

How to watch Lakers vs. Nets on Christmas Day

• Date: Saturday December 25
• Hour: 8:00 pm ET
• Television channel: ABC, ESPN
• Live broadcast: Watch ESPN | Sling tv

NBA Christmas Day schedule

The five games are split between ESPN and ABC. All times below are Eastern Standard Time.

You can stream all the action on Sling TV.