NETS HOLD OFF LAKERS’ BIG RALLY

Nic Claxton threw down a tiebreaking alley-oop over Lebron James with 40.7 seconds left, and James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets returned from a week-long COVID-19 hiatus to beat the Lakers 122-115 Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Harden had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The last helper was a lob that Claxton caught with two hands while soaring over James, who had just helped Los Angeles erase a 20-point deficit. Claxton posterized the 17-time All-star, then made a free throw for a three-point play and a 118-115 lead.

Patty Mills added 34 points for the Nets, who had their past three games postponed because they did not have enough players to compete. They were still without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, among others. Bruce Brown had 16 points and Deandre’ Bembry had 15.

James scored 39 to pass Kobe Bryant for most career points on Christmas Day, but it was not enough to stop the Lakers’ losing streak from reaching five. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds for his second career holiday triple-double, and Malik Monk chipped in 20 points.

James passed Bryant with the first of two free throws with 3:52 left in the first half of his 16th game on Christmas,

tying Bryant’s record for most appearances. James has 422 points on the holiday to Bryant’s 395.

After Claxton’s alley-oop, Westbrook missed a dunk at the other end, and Harden knocked down four free throws to see out the win.

Bucks 117, Celtics 113: Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from the NBA’S health and safety protocols to score 36 points, and Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 30.3 seconds left to give Milwaukee its first lead in the Bucks’ victory over visiting Boston.

Seeing his first action since Dec. 12, Antetokounmpo played 30 minutes and connected on 13 of 23 shots while shooting 10 for 15 from the free-throw line. Milwaukee also got center Bobby Portis and guard Donte Divincenzo back from COVID-19 protocols.

Boston had just eight players available after putting Dennis Schroder in the protocols earlier Saturday, but took control behind Jaylen Brown, who scored 14 of his 25 points in the opening quarter. Jayson Tatum also scored 25 points for Boston, which led by as many as 19 and went into halftime with a 35-22 advantage.

Knicks 101, Hawks 87: Kemba Walker became the seventh NBA player with a triple-double on Christmas, and host New York beat depleted Atlanta for its first victory on the holiday in a decade.

Julius Randle had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks in a matchup of teams that met in the first round of last season’s playoffs. But the Hawks were missing Trae Young among nine players in the NBA’S health and safety protocols, so it wasn’t much of a rematch of Atlanta’s five-game victory.

Walker finished with 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the first triple-double on Christmas since Golden State’s Draymond Green in 2017. John Collins and Delon Wright each scored 20 points for the Hawks.

Mavericks at Jazz: Late

Notable

Paul George has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will be out up to a month.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced George’s injury Saturday. He will rest and be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, when next steps will be decided, the team said.

George was injured at Portland on Dec. 6 and missed five straight games with what the team said was a sprained right elbow. He returned to play against San Antonio and Sacramento this week.

Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff received a multiyear contract extension for his role in the team’s dramatic turnaround.