The Rockets won at the Nuggets five days after a controversial loss in the same room, while the Celtics also won away against the Raptors on Saturday in the NBA.
. The Rockets defeat the Nuggets
Kevin Durant’s 31 points were decisive in the convincing victory of the vengeful Rockets on the Denver floor (115-101).
Houston coach Ime Udoka was fined $25,000 by the NBA for his criticism of the refereeing during his team’s stormy defeat after overtime in Denver (128-125) on Monday.
Durant, MVP in 2014, delivered another remarkable performance at age 37, including five three-point baskets. Teammate Reed Sheppard came off the bench to score 28 points after making six of nine field goals from long range.
Opposite, Serbian Nikola Jokic was limited to 25 points and five assists, far from his usual standards.
Durant got into a heated argument with Denver guard Bruce Brown late in the third quarter, and the two players had to be separated by their teammates. “Slightly disrespectful words were spoken”Brown said. “I can’t wait to see him again. There are certain things you don’t say to another man.”.
Denver, which remained on six wins, occupies third place in the West, with the same record as the Spurs, second, while Houston remains in fifth place.
. Boston overtakes Toronto
In Toronto, leader Payton Pritchard’s 33 points greatly helped the Boston Celtics beat the Raptors (112-96) to move them ahead in the standings.
Last season’s best sixth man added eight rebounds and ten assists in 37 minutes.
In the absence of Jaylen Brown, who was ill, the Celtics were able to rely on newcomers Luka Garza and Hugo Gonzalez, authors of ten rebounds each, to impose themselves in the paint.
On the Raptors side who unsuccessfully abused long shots, Brandon Ingram and Sandro Mamukelashvili both scored 24 points.
This comfortable success for Boston, the twelfth in sixteen meetings, allows the team led by Joe Mazzulla to overtake Toronto, now fifth, and to settle in third place in the Eastern Conference, behind Detroit and New York.
. Maxey shuts down the Mavericks
In Philadelphia, Cooper Flagg, the first choice of the 2025 draft, and Anthony Davis scored 24 points each, but that was not enough to prevent the Mavericks from losing to the Sixers (121-114), carried by Tyrese Maxey’s 38 points.
Tyrese Maxey, the leader of the Philadelphia Sixers, during an NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks, in Philadelphia, December 20, 2025
Mitchell Leff / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
The 25-year-old leader, third best scorer in the league this season, stepped on the accelerator at the start of the fourth quarter to make the difference.
Without Paul George and Joel Embiid, the Sixers were able to count on VJ Edgecombe (26 points) and Dominick Barlow (21 points).
Dallas was penalized by 18 turnovers and limited three-point skill, which allowed Philadelphia to seal a sixth victory in eight matches.
In the standings, the Sixers are in fourth position in the East and well on their way to competing in the play-offs, while the Mavericks, eleventh in the West, will have to fight to secure the play-in tournament.
