LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers served a blowout on Christmas Day after crushing the Dallas Mavericks, 138-115, on Friday, December 25 (Saturday, December 26, Manila time).
James delivered a near-triple-double of 22 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds as the Lakers notched their first win of their title-retention campaign after dropping their season-opener to the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was a historic night for the four-time NBA MVP, who notched several Christmas Day records.
He tied former teammate Dwyane Wade for most victories on Christmas Day with 10 wins and surpassed NBA legend Oscar Robertson (377) for the No. 2 spot in the all-time Christmas career scoring list with 383 points.
James ranks only behind the late Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who tallied 395 points in holiday contests.
Anthony Davis backstopped James with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, while Montrezl Harrell put up 22 points and 7 rebounds – the two big men helping the Lakers pull away in the final quarter.
The Mavericks trimmed their deficit to just 10 points midway through last frame, 99-109, but Harrell and Davis hit timely buckets as the Lakers ended up winning by 23 points.
Dennis Schroder put up 18 points and 6 assists in the win, while Kyle Kuzma contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Luka Doncic churned out 27 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds, but his all-around numbers were not enough as the Mavericks remained winless after two games.
Never really know where @KingJames is gonna pass the ball 👀
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 26, 2020
(📺: ABC & ESPN) pic.twitter.com/8kbQGe9MJc