3 biggest winners from a Lakers Christmas Day victory over the Warriors

This season has had enough ups and down already that Los Angeles Lakers fans didn't know if their team was going to be on the naughty or nice list, but they got their answer in a thrilling Christmas win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers withstood 38 points from Steph Curry, including a game-tying three with just over seven seconds left, to walk away with a 115-113 victory. The win was L.A.'s fourth in five games, and it was enough to move them into sixth place in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.

It's been a critical turnaround for the Lakers, whose aging roster was looking more than a little gamey after a tough 3-8 stretch. There will undoubtedly be many more ebbs and flows to this season, but this recent run of quality play is a reminder that the Lakers aren't ready to be counted out yet.

Having a showcase game on Christmas means that the biggest winners of the day are there for the world to see. It's no surprise then that the biggest winner of all is the guy who has played in more Christmas Day games than anyone.

Lakers-Warriors Winner No. 1: LeBron James

This was LeBron's 19th Christmas Day game in his career, and it was up there with some of his best past efforts. The King finished with 31 points, four rebounds, and 10 assists, and he was the only Lakers starter to finish with a positive +/-.

Anthony Davis has been the MVP of this team through the first third of the season, with LeBron filling more of a 1A role. Most Lakers fans would have expected that a blowout loss was incoming once their star big man went down with a sprained ankle after just seven scoreless minutes, but LeBron had other plans.

The sore foot that forced LeBron to miss two games last week seems a distant memory, as he's now gone for 28 or more in each of the last three games. Playing his longtime rival Curry always seems to bring out his best, and this game was no different.

LeBron was already number one on the all-time Christmas Day scoring list, and he's only further solidified his lead now. He now has 507 points in 19 Christmas games for an average of over 26 points per game. Kobe Bryant is far behind in second with 395.

Lakers-Warriors Winner No. 2: Austin Reaves

As great as LeBron is, he couldn't have beaten the Warriors without a bit of help, and luckily, Austin Reaves was there to deliver in the clutch.

Reaves put up his first triple-double of the year and just the third of his career, ultimately finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. His most important contribution came after Curry tied it with his late three, as he drove left past Andrew Wiggins to score the go-ahead layup with just a second remaining.

Amid the hiring of JJ Redick, the drafting of Dalton Knecht, and the gravitational pull of having LeBron and Anthony Davis on the team, Reaves has been a bit of a forgotten man this season. He's even had his name thrown around in trade rumors, but the way he stepped up once Davis went down showed that he's still an important player on this team. Seeing him steal some thunder from the LeBron vs. Steph of it all was somewhat poetic.

Lakers-Warriors Winner No. 3: The NBA

In a lot of ways, the NBA seems like it's in crisis mode. TV ratings are down, the league's three-point-heavy style of play has been blasted for its unwatchability, and the All-Star Game format needed to be changed due to lack of effort.

All is not as bad as it seems. The NBA is full of stars, and although the NFL tried to steal some of its Christmas spotlight, basketball won the day in a big way thanks to five compelling games featuring some of the league's most important teams and players.

Netflix got positive reviews for the quality of its stream and for its spare-no-expense method of consolidating all of the best media talent from around the league, but neither the Chiefs-Steelers game nor the Ravens-Texans game ended up being all that compelling for what went down on the field.

Contrast that with the NBA, which had a quintupleheader bonanza of games, and everyone delivered. The day started with dueling 40-point games from Mikal Bridges and Victor Wembanyama as the Knicks beat the Spurs in Madison Square Garden. Next up was Joel Embiid and the Sixers handing the Celtics a rare home loss, followed by the Mavericks nearly erasing a 28-point deficit against the Timberwolves without Luka Doncic. The Suns outlasted the Nuggets in a quality game to end the day, but it was the Lakers and Warriors that stole the show and provided the day with its best moment.

All in all, Christmas was a big win for the NBA, and that was true even before LeBron threw some shade at the NFL in his postgame interview. This gives the league a lot of momentum with the All-Star Game and trade deadline looming in February.