‘Twas an NBA Christmas
With five games on tap
Running all day long
Hardly time for a nap!
The stockings were hung
By the chimney with care
In hopes we’d avoid
Another protocols scare
NBA fans were waking
From big comfy beds
While visions of close games
Still danced in their heads
The matchups were tasty
We all know the reason
Christmas Day
Is one of the best of the season
The Hawks and the Knicks
Met in last year’s first round
But the tables were turned
When Atlanta came to town
Giannis and Tatum
Clashed in the East
While many a family
Were settled in for a feast
For the Warriors and Suns
This rubber match was tense
In a possible finals preview
Of the Western Conference
LeBron and the Lakers
Looked to end their current skid
One team had something to say about that
The Nets did
The short-handed Hawks
Just couldn’t handle
The massive performance
When out in the Garden
There arose such a clatter
I sprang to the box score
To see what was the matter
The refs blew their whistles
The calls they weren’t stoppin’
And then came a nasty reverse slam
From Obi Toppin
Kemba Walker couldn’t score
As many as Bernard King
But he still set a record
And did his own thing
He went 10/12/10
A Christmas triple-dub
The first player to do so
For this storied club
A certified baller
That young Quentin Grimes
Who scored a festive 15
And hit a 3-pointer five times
His 15/2/2/2 line in 25 minutes
Was something to savor
And Grimes is a guy
To consider scooping off waivers
Watching MitchRob this season
Has tied stomachs in knots
He got four points and eight boards
But at least blocked five shots
Alec Burks hit the bench
And logged just 18
Unproductive minutes
It was a sad sight to be seen
Kept on scoring quite well
He went 15/5/3/1
And made sure the Knicks didn’t take “No L”
The Hawks were in trouble
They were really missing Trae
But hey, no need to worry
At least they had Skylar Mays
Delon Wright scored a season-high 20
With three swipes and a full line
After two straight duds
It was about time!
Cam Reddish went 4-of-15
But played well otherwise
If he’s on your waiver wire
He should be highly prized
Bogdanovic was ice cold
From the field once again
He’s been a bust so far this season
He’ll start to turn it around… when?
With Atlanta shorthanded
They brought new faces to the fight
Including rookie Jalen Johnson
Who had a career night
And Lance Stephenson
Played 15 minutes, I hear
Yes, he’s back in the league
But not blowing in LeBron’s ear (yet)
Clint Capela started this one
Okongwu was out
John Collins excelled as usual
Was there ever any doubt?
It was mid-afternoon
And what to mine eyes did appear?
A team of Boston Celtics
And five green buck deer
The C’s held the lead
And kept Milwaukee at bay
But Wes Matthews came through
With a three to save the day
Jayson Tatum shot poorly
But scored 25
Even his 25/9/4/2/2 stat line
Couldn’t keep Boston’s chances alive
Jaylen Brown matched Tatum’s point total
And shone just as bright
As Rudolph’s shiny red nose
On a dark Christmas night
With no Horford, no Freedom
It was up to Time Lord
Who grabbed 14 boards with two blocks
And 11 he scored
Marcus Smart scored 19
Dished seven as well
He played 40 minutes
Barely rested a spell
Payton Pritchard scored in double-figures
For the third time in four games
He’s got big upside
Just remember that name!
Stepped back on the court
Well ahead of schedule
Man, that recovery was short!
Giannis cleared protocols
Just in the nick of time
He went 36/12/5/2
And his play was sublime
Jrue Holiday filled the stat sheet
Khris Middleton played well too
Bobby Portis double-doubled off the bench
Yeah, we know what these guys can do
And what of Wes Matthews
Who was mentioned above?
His go-ahead three
Filled Bucks fans with love
The Suns and the Dubs
Came down right to the wire
Until Otto Porter
Got hot late and caught fire
Yes the closer for Golden State
Was OPJ
What’s that?
He should be rostered in more leagues, you say?
Steph Curry scored 30
For the fourth straight game
And knocked in 5 triples
Just more of the same
Draymond Green was tremendous
He played well on both ends
With an 8/10/8/3/3 line
This I tell you, my friends
Looney pulled down 10
Kuminga scored an efficient 12
Gary Payton II went 14/8/2/1
Such productive Warrior elves
The Suns stayed competitive
They didn’t get lapped
But Deandre Ayton’s double-double
Streak was snapped
CP3 led the way
In scoring (21) and dimes (8)
And he rebounded the ball
By my count, six times
Devin Booker went frigid
Going 5-of-19
He scored only 13 points
Yeah, that wasn’t too keen
The day turned to evening
On this December date
And a highly-anticipated matchup
Appeared on the slate
The Lakers had lost two
In a row, both by blowout
LeBron and Co. had a chance to win
If they showed out
Brookly got some reinforcements
Though reserves were still scant
Still the team managed to win
Even without Durant
The game went back and forth
Though the Nets ultimately won
There were more than a few records set
Oh, how fun!
Patty Mills scored 34
And hit 8-of-13 from downtown
That’s a new Christmas single-game record
Mills sits on top with the crown
And speaking of kings,
What of old LeBron James?
This was his 16th contest on Dec. 25
Tying the most ever such games
LeBron scored 39
To move into first place
On the all-time Christmas scoring list
Kobe, he replaced
LeBron also moved ahead of Durant
For most threes in a Christmas career
Man this guy just keeps getting better
Year after year
Russell Westbrook posted another
Triple-double on Christmas
He joins Oscar Robertson
As exclusive members on that list
James Harden triple-doubled
In his Nets return
Fear the Beard? No more aptly,
Feel the burn
Harden filled up the stat sheet
With 36/10/10 and four stocks
With Durant out of action
A big night was practically a lock
DeAndre’ Bembry had a solid night
And so did Nic Claxton
Despite missing some players
Blake Griffin was taken mostly out of action
James Johnson looked pretty good
In 25 minutes and did his part
So did Bruce Brown
Who drew the Christmas Day start
Malik Monk popped for 20
He does that sometimes
He’s not a fantasy-friendly player
Low rebounds, stocks, and dimes
Carmelo Anthony erupted
For one of his best games of the year
He double-doubled with five stocks
It was pure Christmas cheer
Darren Collison checked in
For 12 minutes - wow!
He went for two rebounds and a dime
And three stupid fouls
No Luka, no problem
That’s what the Mavs said
They hung in there with Utah
After being left for dead
No Hardaway, no Bullock
No WCS, no Burke
No DFS, no Kleber
But they made it work
Kristaps Porzingis kept Dallas
Afloat with his scoring
He filled out the stat sheet
By no means boring
Dwight Powell did little
Frank Ntilikina looked good
So did Marquess Chriss and Theo Pinson
Just like we knew they would
Jalen Brunson poured in 27
And 10 in the fourth
For as long as Luka’s out
Brunson’s got solid fantasy worth
Kept his hot scoring hot
Dallas tried to stop him
But he scored over 20, they did not
Donovan Mitchell scored with gusto
As he most often does
Another 30-point showing
That’ll earn him some buzz
Had a meager double-double
For most players fine
But for him, oh so subtle
Mike Conley (22/7/5/1) had a good game
Jordan Clarkson did too
Though efforts from Whiteside
And Clarkson were moot
Then on TV
I saw a man speak
Commissioner Adam Silver
Mild-mannered, but not meek
He was tall with no hair
Glasses perched on his head
And I cried out with wonder
When I heard what he said
On James, On Steph, On Giannis, On Harden!
On Kemba, On Randle, at home in the Garden!
On Westbrook, On Tatum, On Collins, and Brown!
A tear came to my eye at those beautiful NBA sounds
As the Mavs and Jazz finished
I heard him clearly state
Merry Christmas to all
See you at the All-Star Break!