Any potential budding rivalry between the top two teams in the Western Conference has been completely one-sided.

De'Aaron Fox scored 29 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 117-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday to continue their mastery of the defending NBA champions.

San Antonio (23-7), which pushed its winning streak to eight games with its Christmas Day victory, also defeated Oklahoma City 111-109 in an NBA Cup semifinal game on December 13 and 130-110 in San Antonio on Tuesday. The Thunder are 26-2 against every other team.

Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Stephon Castle added 19 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who shot 53.6 per cent and held the Thunder to 38.9 per cent shooting. Oklahoma City (26-5) made just 11 of 44 shots from 3-point range, with Alex Caruso missing 10 of 12 attempts from beyond the arc.

 

"Dub on Christmas is the best feeling ever!"

The Spurs take the W on #NBAXmas for their 8th straight! pic.twitter.com/P5sRjpLzzs

— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2025

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Oklahoma City player to score more than 13, finishing with 22 points and was 1 of 6 from 3-point range.

Isaiah Hartenstein had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Chet Holmgren chipped in 10 points and 12 boards.

 

Jokic has 56-16-15 to rescue Nuggets in overtime win over Timberwolves

Nikola Jokić put together a performance for the ages, scoring an NBA record 18 points in overtime and finishing with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists in rallying the Denver Nuggets to an incredible 142-138 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in an instant classic to conclude the NBA's Christmas quintuple-header.

The Nuggets looked like they were going to come away with an easy win, as Jokić's hook shot with 5:55 to play in the fourth quarter put Denver up 106-91.

The Timberwolves then stormed back, and Antony Edwards sent the game to overtime on a corner 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 115-115.

Minnesota's surge continued into the extra period, as it scored the first nine points of overtime, but then Jokić took over.

Jokić gave the Nuggets their first points of overtime with a 3-pointer and went on to go 3 for 3 from the field and 10 of 11 from the foul line in the bonus period. For the game, the three-time league MVP made 22 of 23 free throws and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Jamal Murray made nine 3-pointers and finished with 35 points and 10 assists for Denver (22-8), which won for the eighth time in 10 games.

 

THE DENVER NUGGETS SURVIVE A CHRISTMAS DAY THRILLER

THEY WIN IN OT BEHIND SPECIAL NIGHTS FROM JOKER AND JAMAL! pic.twitter.com/KzUfcziA67

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025

Edwards finished with 44 points but was ejected with 21 seconds to go in overtime with his team down three points after receiving his second technical foul.

Julius Randle had 32 points and six assists and Rudy Gobert had nine points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota (20-11) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

 

Brunson rallies Knicks over Cavaliers

Jalen Brunson scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half, and the New York Knicks rallied from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-124, tipping off the NBA’s five-game Christmas Day slate.

In a game of sweeping runs, Cleveland jumped out to an 18-3 lead and later had a 103-86 advantage early in the fourth but could not hold off Brunson and New York.

Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points off the bench, and fellow reserves Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson made key plays in the fourth-quarter surge that got the Knicks back into the game.

Kolek finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and one crucial block, which was initially ruled a foul but was proven to be clean after video review.

Robinson did not score but had 13 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.

The win got the Knicks (21-9) back on track after they had lost two of their previous three.

 

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL. W.

vote knicks for nba all-star https://t.co/Ov3esq1i8z pic.twitter.com/OwDs77cLUh

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 25, 2025

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs in the loss, finishing with 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Evan Mobley returned from a two-week absence due to a calf strain, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds off the bench.

The Cavaliers’ loss is the latest in a monthlong swoon, with a 5-9 record in their last 14 games. After 64-18 last season, Cleveland is 17-15 this season and is in seventh place in the East.

 

Rockets ride fast start to rout Lakers

In the highest-scoring matchup between two players in NBA history, Kevin Durant's Houston Rockets bested LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers 119-96.

Durant had 25 points and nine assists for the Rockets (18-10), who ended a two-game skid, while James had 18 points for the Lakers (19-10), who lost their third straight game. No two opposing players have gone head-to-head in a game with more combined career points.

Amen Thompson scored 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Houston, which jumped out to a 22-10 lead midway through the first quarter and led 37-25 after one period. The Rockets, who led by as much as 24, also dominated the glass, holding a 48-25 advantage in rebounding.

 

AMEN OOP ALERT pic.twitter.com/WVMdGzMb81

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 26, 2025

Luka Dončić made 9 of 17 shots but scored only 25 points - nearly nine points less than his league-leading average of 33.7.

It was still a better outing than Rui Hachimura, who failed to score a point and missed all six of his shot attempts. He came in with a 13.3-scoring average.

Austin Reaves, who averages 26.6 points, scored 12, but was bothered by a sore left calf and didn't play after half-time.

 

Curry helps Warriors hold off Mavericks

The Golden State Warriors spoiled Cooper Flagg's Christmas debut, beating the Dallas Mavericks 126-116.

Flagg led all scorers with 27 points on 13-of-21 shooting, along with six rebounds and five assists, but it wasn't enough as the Mavericks (12-20) lost for the third time in four games.

Stephen Curry hit a key 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining and finished with 23 points, while Jimmy Butler added 14 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as the Warriors (16-15) matched a season high with a third straight win.

Draymond Green had seven points and five boards three days after he had coach Steve Kerr got in a heated exchange during a timeout in Golden State's 120-97 win over Orlando.

 

THURSDAY'S FINAL SCORES

Stephen Curry reaches 26,000 career PTS and the @warriors get their 3rd consecutive win against the Mavs on #NBAXmas!

Jimmy Butler III: 14 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST
Cooper Flagg: 27 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST
Brandon Williams: 26 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST https://t.co/Wo9IfMjm6u pic.twitter.com/5PWUrau4bO

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025

The Mavericks lost Anthony Davis to a groin injury just minutes into the second quarter. Davis, who has already missed 16 games this season due to a left calf injury, had three points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in just under 11 minutes.

Neither team shot well from 3-point range, with the Warriors making 14 of 50 (28.0 per cent) and the Mavericks going 4 of 15 (28.6 per cent).