NBA Christmas games 2015: Warriors survive Cavaliers in grind-it-out-affair

And Golden State still won.

This is the juggernaut that NBA teams are facing this season. The Warriors won 89-83 and improved to 28-1, the best start for any team in NBA history. We usually watch Golden State outrun and outgun teams, sprinting into open transition jumpers and sending their defensive schemes into disarray with deleterious shooting that threatens teams from everywhere on the court. On Friday, the Warriors reminded everyone that they can play slow and physical, and they can still win.

Unfortunately, by the time the Lakers’ miraculous comeback developed, Bryant was done for the night, already in his warmups and relegated to only supporting from the bench. While seeing him come off the bench as cavalry in an attempt to win in improbable fashion would have been magical, it simply wasn’t going to happen.

There was nothing but good things to say about the better Los Angeles team through three quarters. They ran out to a 30-point lead and it didn’t even look like they were trying that hard. They took care of business against a team that isn’t good. It’s always nice to get a win against the team you share the city with, anyway.

As a rookie, Larry Nance Jr. is still getting used to being in the NBA. From the looks of this play against the Clippers, it looks like he’s still trying to get used to being a part of the Lakers—or is it the Clippers?

Going up for a defensive rebound, Nance leaps and almost grabs the rock with a one-handed full extension. But he didn’t secure it, so that rebound became the most aggressive bank shot in favor of the Clippers.

The first quarter belonged to the Rockets while the Spurs dominated the second one. In San Antonio fashion, it felt like the Spurs’ 43-38 lead might blossom into something bigger than that, but Houston’s defense was thoroughly impressive throughout the game, frustrating San Antonio’s free-flowing ball movement just enough throughout the game.

The Rockets bounced back ahead in the third quarter and opened up a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, but the Spurs, like death, taxes, zombies and Tim Duncan, never truly go away. With a couple more made looks in the fourth quarter -- and there were some makeable shots -- we could be telling a different story. As it is, though, Houston just picked up a signature win on their home court.

Christmastime in-game microphone opportunities are filled with good wishes all around. Most of the time, fans get to hear an assortment of “Merry Christmas” and “happy holidays.” The Rockets’ Dwight Howard decided to switch it up a bit.

The referee who tipped the ball at the beginning of the game wished Howard a happy holidays. Howard returned the favor by wishing the ref a happy Hanukkah.

Matthew Dellavedova is using next-level techniques to get opponents to the line.

While it looks like Delly wants to grab a board, he really just wants to foul. He isn’t exactly a rebounding machine so he had to improvise. Rather than using his post game expertise, he attempted to climb over Iguodala and ride him like a pony instead, especially with the size difference. J.J. Redick attempted this against the Pistons with similar results.

We waited six months for the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers to share a basketball court again and it was everything we could have asked for. Golden State beat Cleveland 89-83 on Christmas Day in a game that felt like it was straight from last June’s NBA Finals series between the two.

Golden State led for most of the game, but their 10-point lead in the fourth quarter was cut to just three points in the final minute after LeBron James took over. Despite limiting Golden State to their lowest point total all season, though, Cleveland couldn’t produce enough offensively to retake a lead. James finished with a hard-earned 25 points on 10-of-26 shooting.

Cavs-Warriors has been a back-and-forth battle, but with about four minutes to go in the game LeBron decided he was tired of that.

Dunk. Block on Klay Thompson. Dunk. The Warriors are still up and will likely pull this one out, but LeBron is cookin’ ...

Steph Curry left the game because of a calf injury, and came back later in the game? We wouldn’t believe you if you told us after seeing this shot that Curry catches in midair.

Seriously, not many in the league will attempt a shot like this, let alone while they’re concerned over their calf. But Steph isn’t any other player in the league. He’ll grab the basketball with his back facing the rim and still get a good shot in, even if he’s already up in the air.

Luke Walton has done a great job as the coach of the Warriors this year while filling in for Steve Kerr.

Obviously this is an attempt at irony (we hope) meant to point out that Walton has been more than serviceable in Kerr’s absence. Of course, Kerr guided the Warriors to their first title in 40 years, so maybe he deserves a little more leniency. More importantly, Kerr is out right now because back surgery complications LITERALLY LEFT FLUID LEAKING OUT OF HIS SPINE, so maybe we make our irony a little less tasteless?

Hey, instead of berating basketball players when you have great courtside seats, maybe just enjoy the game. It’s a novel idea, we know but the players are able to listen -- and more importantly see -- what’s going on.

One Warriors fans learned this the hard way, as she was calling LeBron James a crybaby behind his back on Christmas Day. She even pretended to be a crybaby herself.

That Steph guy, man. Why are they even playing him?

Seriously, though, that pass. Here’s an incredible stat.

Russell Westbrook upped his aggressiveness in the second quarter, for better and for worse. He went 3-of-8 in the frame and turned the ball over twice, but set up Durant, who continued to be the one Thunder player the Bulls couldn’t stop. Durant finished the half with 19 points and three assists. With Chicago’s offense falling back to earth, his efforts were enough to have Oklahoma City to trail by only two points after falling behind by as much as 14.

All the effort the Thunder made to erase that early deficit went to waste on the third quarter. The Bulls went on a Rose-fueled 8-0 run and took control of the game. Chicago got what it wanted inside, outscoring Oklahoma City 22-6 in the paint during the period. On the other end, they held the Thunder 16 points on 24 percent from the field, as Durant finally went cold. It was close to a perfect quarter for the Bulls, which seemed on their way to an quality win on the road.

Merry Christmas, indeed. Pass the eggnog.

Jimmy Butler just made someone’s naughty list.

Bosh led the way for the Heat but Hassan Whiteside was great, too. He had eight points, 17 rebounds and four blocks -- but he didn’t play in crunch time. The Heat climbed to 17-11 with the win, while the Pelicans fell to 9-20 on the season.

The Heat jumped out to a 12-point first quarter lead, but the Pelicans were able to chip away thanks to Davis -- and not much else. Davis had 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in the first half alone. He was everywhere, taking 18 of the Pelicans’ 43 shots in the first 24 minutes, and was cleaning up even when his teammates missed:

Chris Bosh is just 8-of-19 from the field, but in a Heat-Pelicans game this ugly, that qualifies as a hot shooting performance. So, the Heat star made sure to let Anthony Davis know in this incredibly understated trash talk.

“You can’t leave me open, man,” Bosh says, almost as if he’s Davis’ coach. “I ain’t gonna miss too many, dawg.”

We get it, Steph! Your family is adorable. WHERE IS RILEY, THO?

If voting stopped today, these would be your NBA All-Star starters:

Here’s the current vote count:

Christmas this year delivers a solid slate of NBA games, but there’s only one that truly matters. Think of the day’s first two games as the appetizer. Enjoy as much as you can, but be sure to leave room for the delicious main course: An NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and Cavaliers.

These two teams, along with the Spurs, have separated themselves from the rest of the league this season. Christmas will mark the first time all year we get to see two of them face off.

Christmas is for spending time with family, unwrapping presents and shielding your eyes from the TV so that you don’t see the hideous NBA uniforms brought out for the day’s games.

This year, though, the league and Adidas got things right. Gone are the ugly sleeves and random colors. This year’s Christmas Day uniforms are actually pretty cool.

Merry Christmas! To get you ready for a day full of hoops, we’re sharing our favorite SB Nation pieces involving the 10 teams playing. Enjoy!

THE SCHEDULE ...

Every conversation about Kobe today ends with exaltation or insult. Legacies! Airballs! This is not that. This is just a sweet mixtape the NBA threw together that I enjoyed watching and hopefully you will too. It’s fun to watch Kobe!

On Friday, he’ll play on Christmas Day for the 16th (!) time, which is the most in NBA history. Do yourself a favor and watch.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced a unique partnership with anti-gun violence advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety to air a series of PSAs beginning on Christmas. The 30-second spot above features interviews with Stephen Curry, Joakim Noah, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, as well as interviews with family members and survivors of those affected by gun violence.

That video is just the beginning of the campaign. The league is committed to continuing it throughout the season, according to Jason Rzepka, the director of cultural engagement at Everytown. The organization has three other spots ready to air.and over 18 hours of interview footage with the players and survivors.

In another spot, Curry talks about what it was like to hear that a child the same age as his 3-year-old daughter had been shot. Paul and Anthony share personal stories as well.

Along with the NBA players, the commercials feature survivors of shootings, as well as relatives of individuals killed by guns explaining how gun violence has impacted them.