Star player of Los Angeles Lakers Luka Doncic Against the background of the embarrassing defeat of Houston Rockets (96:119), he explained what the team had to change to improve the results:

“I don’t know exactly what needs to change, but something definitely needs to change. We need to figure it out, that’s what we need to do. Everyone should discuss it.”

I know JJ Redick said it would be disturbing. And that’s the way it should be.

As I said, we need to discuss this. It may be uncomfortable, but everyone needs to try harder, starting with me.

We just have to challenge each other. Everyone should challenge themselves and their teammates. “There’s no way to play the way we play, so we’ve got to be better than that.”

On the night of December 25-26, as part of the Christmas games of the NBA regular season, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 142:128.

Nuggets’ point guard Jamal Murray played with 35 points (2/3 free throws, 3/14 two-pointers, 9/18 three-pointers) and 10 assists in this game.

The Canadian player broke the record for the most accurate three-pointers in a match by making 9 three-pointers in the Minnesota hoop. Thus, he surpassed the record of 8 three-pointers each of Stephen Curry (2024), Grayson Allen (2023), Luka Doncic (2023) and Patty Mills (2021).

Murray also became the third player in NBA Christmas history to score 35+ points, 10+ assists and 5+ 3-pointers, joining Luka Doncic and Tracy McGrady.

JAMAL MURRAY brought the heat to CHRISTMAS DAY!

🔥35 POINTS
🔥10 AST
🔥 9 15:00 (most in Christmas Day matches)

He joins Luka Dončić and Tracy McGrady only in the 35-PT, 10-AST, 5-3PM matches. #NBAXmas history. pic.twitter.com/LithevHmF5

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025

On the evening of December 25 and the night of December 26, five Christmas games were traditionally held as part of the NBA regular season.

The most important match of the match day was played in Oklahoma, where the Thunder hosted San Antonio.

The home team started the game better and were ahead for most of the first quarter, but they missed a move 0:11 into the quarter, allowing Spurs to take the lead 41:36. Oklahoma was unable to take the lead after that, but San Antonio maintained its lead by keeping the game under control and eventually won 117-102.

The Spurs have won all three games against the Thunder this season, while Oklahoma has lost just two of the other 28 games.

The most productive player of the match was Fox, who brought 29 points to San Antonio, while Vembanyama also scored a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers played Houston at home and suffered a crushing defeat.

The fate of the match was decided in the first quarter, when the Rockets won by 12 points (25:37). Afterwards, they increased their advantage by completely controlling the course of the match and eventually won with a score of 119:96.

For Houston, Thompson scored 26 points and Shengyun had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Denver and Minnesota closed out game day.

The first half of the match ended in a draw. Neither team managed to take a lead of more than 9 points, and Denver entered the big break with a 2-point lead at 57:55. In the third quarter, the Nuggets made an attack of 6:0 at the beginning and 10:2 in the middle, reaching a 16-point lead, and at the end of the quarter they were ahead +15 – 90:78. The Timberwolves did not give up and made a 16:2 move midway through the fourth quarter, reaching a lead of 107:108. This gave fans a tense ending; Edwards hit a three-pointer 2 seconds before the siren, sending the game into overtime at 115:115. And there Jokic played a decisive role and scored 18 points in 5 minutes, allowing the Nuggets to win 142:138.

Jokic scored 56 points in the NBA on Christmas Day, falling just four shy of Bernard King’s record. Nikola also recorded a triple-double with 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Murray had a double-double with 35 points and 10 assists.

NBA. Regular season. Christmas Day, 25-26 December

New York – Cleveland – 126:124 (23:38, 37:20, 24:38, 42:28)

New York: Brunson (34), Hart (15), Bridges (12), Towns (11 + 14 rebounds), Anunoby (8) – start; Clarkson (25), Kolek (16 + 9 assists), Diawara (5), Hookporty (0), Robinson (0 + 12 rebounds).

cleveland: Mitchell (34 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Garland (20 + 10 assists), Merrill (11), Allen (7 + 9 rebounds), Wade (6) – start; Tyson (16), E. Mobley (14 + 9 rebounds), Hunter (13), Bryant (3), Ball (0).

Oklahoma – San Antonio – 102:117 (36:41, 24:28, 19:26, 23:22)

Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (22), Hartenstein (13 + 12 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (12 + 6 assists), Holmgren (10 + 12 rebounds), Dort (8) – start; Caruso (12), K. Williams (8), Wiggins (5), Joe (5), Wallace (5), Carlson (2), Barnhizer (0), Youngblood (0).

San Antonio: Fox (29), Castle (19 + 7 assists), Barnes (15), Cornet (6), Vassell (5) – start; Vembanyama (19 + 11 rebounds), Harper (12), K. Johnson (9 + 7 rebounds), McLaughlin (3), Sohan (0), Shempeni (0), Brian (0), Olynyk (0), Waters (0).

Golden State – Dallas – 126:116 (40:28, 31:30, 29:31, 26:27)

Golden State: Curry (23), Butler (14 + 9 rebounds + 9 assists), Moody (12), Dr. Green (7), Post (6) – start; Melton (16), Horford (14), Podziemski (13 + 8 rebounds), Jackson-Davis (10), Payton II (6), Richard (5).

dallas: Flagg (27), Marshall (14), Washington (14 + 10 rebounds), Nembhard (4), Davis (3) – starter; Williams (26), Christie (13), Thompson (7), Gafford (6), Caleb Martin (2).

Lakers-Houston-96:119 (25:37, 28:26, 21:29, 22:27)

Lakers: Doncic (25 + 7 assists + 6 turnovers), James (18), Reeves (12), Ayton (10), Hachimura (0) – start; Vanderbilt (11), Smart (6), Larevia (5), James Jr. (3), Thiero (2), Knecht (2), Kleber (2).

Houston: Thompson (26 + 7 rebounds), Durant (25 + 9 assists), Smith (16 + 7 rebounds), Shengyun (14 + 12 rebounds + 6 turnovers), Eason (13) – start; Sheppard (13), Capela (6), Adams (4 + 9 rebounds), Tate (2), A. Holiday (0), Davison (0), Green (0), Okogie (0), Finney-Smith (0).

Denver – Minnesota – 142:138 (STARTING 32:29, 25:26, 35:23, 23:37, 27:23)

Denver: Jokic (56 + 16 rebounds + 15 assists + 5 turnovers), J. Murray (35 + 10 assists), Hardaway (19), Jones (12 + 9 rebounds), Watson (9) – start; B. Brown (7), Nnaji (2), Valanciunas (2), Strother (0).

Minnesota: Edwards (44 + 6 turnovers), Randle (32 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), McDaniels (21), Gobert (9 + 12 rebounds + 6 blocks), DiVincenzo (6 + 7 rebounds + 8 assists) – start; Reed (13), Hyland (11), Clark (2), Juzeng (0), Conley (0), Shannon (0).

tournament tables

Western Conference

Eastern Conference