Christmas Day in the NBA means one definitive thing, Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers, and we got just that on Wednesday afternoon. When it was all said and done, it was the defending champs that put on yet another display of dominance as they got the win in the Staples Center, 101-95.
This wasn’t the match up that the league was looking for in the offseason when this was set, as they assumed that the Lakers would be with their star Kobe Bryant, which we know did not end up being the case.
Before the game, though, LeBron James went over to greet his fellow All-Star and future hall of famer:
After that, it was time to get the festivities underway, where the excitement certainly wasn’t few and far between, and yet again, LeBron put on a display of why he’s the best player in the league.
James finished the afternoon with 19 points and eight rebounds, with a few of those points probably landing him in the SportsCenter Top 10 once again.
First there was this play early in the first quarter where the superstar back himself down into the low post, and then made a spin toward the hoop where he finished it off by slamming it down:
Following that, it was time for Dwyane Wade to throw his name into everything to get the LeBron-D-Wade alley-oop show off and running.
To start things off, there was this play off the fast break where James passed the ball to Wade who promptly gave it right back to his teammate for the one-handed finish:
Then, there was the unquestioned play of the night as Wade lofted one off the backboard and James finished it off with the left-handed throw down:
This all pretty much sums up how the night went for the Lakers as they fell to 13-16 on the year with the loss, while the Heat improved to 22-6.