Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn feels his side's focus on court matters alone is key to their form, after Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving set up a ninth win in a row.

The pair posted 32 points each in a remarkable double act to ensuring a 125-117 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, which gave the Nets their longest winning streak since 2006.

It marks a sharp contrast from the early season blues the Nets suffered from, with Irving banned for a post that supported anti-semitism and prior head coach Steve Nash dismissed amid poor form.

Vaughn credits the turnaround to keeping his players tightly trained on their performances rather than matters away from the court, indicating that discipline has been the secret of the success.

"I am a simple person," he said. "[I] really try to keep things simple. We stripped our playbook down a little bit, we are simple in what we do.

"[We] have our guys play extremely free of mind. I think there's something important in that if you're going to ask your guys to play hard."

Durant concurred with his coach's assessment, noting the Nets feel like they are in a better headspace under Vaughn's command, while suggesting outside forces were played up in the media.

"To be honest, I think we've always been about ball," he added. "Everybody has a platform, so there are many voices speaking [about] what we do inside our locker room

"I think that's the noise that you hear. But from us, we've always been about the game. We struggled early on, we were always focused on playing basketball."

Dwayne Casey felt his Detroit Pistons side "threw in the towel" as they squandered a 14-point deficit in the final three minutes to lose 142-131 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The NBA-worst Pistons were on course for just a ninth win in 36 games this season until the Clippers rallied in Monday's contest at Little Caesars Arena.

Paul George scored 32 in the Clippers' overtime triumph, with Terance Mann hitting a tying jumper with five seconds left in regulation to deny the Pistons.

"We were down 15 points in the third quarter, fought our way back, got the lead and had a comfortable lead with three minutes left," Pistons coach Casey said. 

"They threw in the towel. We must learn how to win that game. I'm proud of the way we put ourselves in a position to beat one of the best teams in the West, but we didn't get it."

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue took action with his side 126-112 down by pulling his starters.

A line-up of Luke Kennard, Amir Coffey, Nicolas Batum, Moses Brown and Mann finished the fourth quarter with a 16-2 run in an unlikely turnaround.

"You have to give those guys credit for staying ready," Lue said. "They came out and played with some urgency. 

"Amir and Moses hadn't played in the game, so for them to come in and produce like the way they did was huge."

The Clippers had lost their previous 417 games in which they had trailed by 14 points or more with three minutes remaining prior to Monday's comeback against the Pistons.

Isaiah Stewart, who scored 21 points, says the blame is on the Pistons' players rather than the coaching staff.

"They took their starters out, and we thought the game was over," he said. "We had the lead and we didn't finish the game. That's completely on us, not the coaches."

The Clippers (20-15) are fourth in the Western Conference, while the Pistons (8-28) are bottom of the East.

The Brooklyn Nets now own the NBA's longest active winning streak after extending it to nine games with Monday's 125-117 road victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Making it even more impressive is the fact that the Cavaliers came into the contest with the third-best home record in the league at 16-3, but had no answer for the Nets' offensive firepower early.

Brooklyn built a 65-49 lead at half-time, and despite a big performance from Cavs point guard Darius Garland down the stretch, the Nets were never truly threatened.

Kevin Durant (10-of-18 shooting) and Kyrie Irving (11-of-19) had 32 points and five assists each for the Nets, while Ben Simmons finished with nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and one block to go with his four points.

T.J. Warren continues to shine off the bench since returning from a long-term injury, contributing 23 points (nine-of-14), eight rebounds and two steals.

Garland was clearly the Cavaliers' best, scoring 46 points (14-of-20) with eight assists, while it was the first time this season Donovan Mitchell has had consecutive games of 15 points or fewer.

The win improves the Nets' record to 22-12 after beginning the campaign 1-5, leapfrogging the Cavaliers (22-13) into the Eastern Conference's third seed.  

Clippers complete miraculous comeback

The Los Angeles Clippers came from 14 points down with under three minutes remaining to defeat the Detroit Pistons 141-132 in overtime.

Detroit led 126-112 with 2:52 on the clock before the Clippers launched a 16-2 run from that point to force the game to overtime, and their momentum carried into the extra session, winning it 14-3.

With Kawhi Leonard sitting out the first leg a back-to-back, Paul George was the unquestioned leader, and he delivered with team-highs in points (32), assists (11) and steals (three).

The Clippers have now won six of their past eight to improve their record to 20-15.

Heat spread it around against the Timberwolves

The Miami Heat beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-110 despite not having a single player cross the 20-point barrier.

Eight of the Heat's nine players scored between seven and 19 points in the absence of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, led by Max Strus' 19 on seven-of-12 shooting.

Tyler Herro was effective as a playmaker with eight assists, but struggled with his shooting, missing all eight of his three-pointers. 

Kyle Lowry picked up the slack as the Heat's best player, finishing with 18 points (eight-of-16), nine assists and no turnovers, as well as a steal on the final play to deny the Timberwolves a chance to tie the game.

The Sacramento Kings have potentially avoided a costly absence after a report on Monday that two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis will attempt to play through his thumb injury.

According the The Athletic's Shams Charania, Sabonis suffered a fractured ligament in his right thumb – his non-shooting hand – and will make himself available for Tuesday's home game against the Denver Nuggets.

Sabonis, 26, is leading the league in rebounding with a career-high 12.4 per game, while setting a new personal best with a 61.2 per cent field goal percentage, and his 6.7 assists per game also ties his career-high.

It has been an impressive first full season with the Kings after being acquired during the middle of last campaign, playing in each of Sacramento's first 31 games to propel them to a 17-14 record – placing them sixth in the Western Conference.

They are on pace to make their first playoff appearance since 2006, which is currently the league's longest postseason drought.

Jayson Tatum said it was "fun playing on Christmas" after excelling for the Boston Celtics in the victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Christmas Day clash at TD Garden saw the two teams with the best records in the NBA this season collide, with Boston running out 139-118 victors.

Tatum posted 41 points with seven rebounds and five assists, scoring 20 points in the third quarter alone.

"It's fun. It's fun playing on national TV; it's fun playing on Christmas," Tatum said. "And those matchups are fun. You get to play against the other best players, and it just raises your level of play.

"The competition is exciting, but that's the game that you live for. The moments, the matchups, if you can't get up for those games, then you're probably in the wrong profession."

The Celtics appear to be back on track, recording back-to-back wins after a run of five defeats in six, and moving on to a record of 24-10.

"It did feel good to get back to playing the way we know how to play," Tatum added. "We have the emotional understanding of it [being] a long season, and there's going to be great stretches and there's going to be some bad ones. But not letting the bad ones snowball effect and getting back on track sooner than later. It helps when we make shots too."

Tatum has scored at least 30 points in his last five games and is averaging 30.9 for the season, fifth in the league behind only Joel Embiid (33.1), Luka Doncic (32.8), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.6) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.2), who the Celtics restricted to 27 points on Sunday.

"It's definitely an honour. I've said many times how much I love being here and what it means to play on Christmas, [this is my] sixth year in a row and something I never want to take for granted," Tatum said.

"As a kid, that was part of the tradition: Eat, be with family, watch all the games and try to envision myself playing out there one day. Now I get to do that."

Devin Booker suffered a recurrence of his groin problem in the Phoenix Suns' overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day.

The shooting guard had sat out his team's last three games with soreness, missing a win over the Los Angeles Lakers and defeats to the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies.

Any hope of a smooth comeback was dashed early in the first quarter against Denver after Booker's groin injury flared up, forcing him out of an eventual 128-125 overtime loss on Sunday after clocking just over four minutes on court.

The three-time All-Star needs just seven more three-pointers to pass Steve Nash for first place on the Suns' all-time franchise list, having scored 1,045 in his career with them to date.

In Booker's absence, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul posted a combined 39 points to take the Suns within a whisker of victory, only to come up short at the end.

Nikola Jokic proved best-in-show for the Nuggets again, with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists as Denver notched 77 points after the half-time interval.

Return trips to the Grizzlies and the Wizards are next on the agenda for the 19-15 Suns, before they close out 2022 with a visit to the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

The Boston Celtics shot the lights out during their 139-118 Christmas Day win against the Milwaukee Bucks in a crunch clash between two of the Eastern Conference heavyweights.

Boston scored at least 36 points in three of the four quarters, including a 77-point second half as they proved unstoppable offensively.

They were led by MVP candidate Jayson Tatum with a game-high 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting, adding seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

His running-mate Jaylen Brown was just as effective in his supporting role, scoring 29 on 11-of-19 shooting with five rebounds and four assists, while reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart set the table with eight assists and only four total field goal attempts.

As a team, the Celtics shot 58.8 per cent from the field (50-of-85) and 48.7 per cent from long range (19-of-39) in a blistering performance.

Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was not at his best for the Bucks, shooting nine-of-22 from the field for his 27 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Jrue Holiday was more effective for his 23 points (eight-of-14), seven assists and six rebounds.

A win for the Bucks would have seen them overtake the Celtics for the top seed in the East, but they instead fell to 22-11 and are now one-and-a-half games behind Boston at 24-10.

Doncic, Mavs catch fire in the third

The Dallas Mavericks were a completely different team after half-time in their 124-115 home win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Trailing 54-43 at the long break, the Mavericks came out of the locker room and put up 51 points in the third period, setting a new record for the most points scored in a quarter on Christmas Day. They won that quarter by 30 points, racing to the lead before the duo of Luka Doncic and Christian Wood put the game to bed.

Doncic, who was being consistently double-teamed all night and being forced to give off early passes, still worked his way to 32 points (nine-of-16 shooting), nine rebounds and nine assists, while Wood added 30 points (12-of-17), eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks.

LeBron James was the lone bright spot for the Lakers, scoring a game-high 38 points (13-of-23) as his side lost their fourth in a row to fall to 13-20.

Warriors remain the league's best home team

There is no place like home for the Golden State Warriors this season, improving their league-best record in their own stadium to 13-2 with a 123-109 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.

The Warriors are still below .500 overall at 16-18 thanks to their 3-15 road record, but once again shot the ball beautifully in front of the Chase Center crowd.

Behind 32 points from Jordan Poole and 24 from Klay Thompson, Golden State shot 18-of-44 from three-point range (40.9 per cent). It was a throwback game for Draymond Green as well, delivering a gritty double-double with 13 rebounds and 13 assists to go with his two points.

Ja Morant was the only Grizzlies player to shine under the bright lights, scoring a game-high 36 points on 15-of-29 shooting with eight assists and seven rebounds on his Christmas Day debut.

LeBron James concedes life without the injured Anthony Davis is "very difficult" for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers fell to a 124-115 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, after the Mavs piled on 51 third-quarter points.

The defeat left the Lakers with a 13-20 record, having lost their past four games all without Davis after he suffered a foot injury in the 126-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on December 16.

In Davis' absence, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has trialled a shorter lineup with Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder in the backcourt.

"Reality is, without AD, we lose a lot of length, which we don't have already," James told reporters after Sunday's loss.

"We have to make up in ways that, without AD, is very difficult, very challenging. I think at one point we had a lineup of, I think Austin Reaves [6-foot-5] was the tallest guy on the court.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out."

Davis had been enjoying an outstanding season prior to the injury, averaging 27.4 points shooting at 59.4 per cent from the field with 12.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

James has lifted in Davis' absence, with his 38 points in the loss to the Mavs marking his seventh consecutive 30-point game.

The four-time NBA MVP is averaging 33.4 points with a 58 per cent field-goal percentage, adding 6.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists across the past seven games.

On the Lakers' lineup without Davis, Ham added: "You throw everything up against the wall and see what sticks. It's one of those types of situations.

"AD's not here, not in the lineup. We're not going to start using that as an excuse. Hell yeah, it's a big hole in our lineup. But now, we're pros. We've got to step up."

Philadelphia 76ers point guard James Harden did not deny the report that he is mulling a potential return to the Houston Rockets while addressing the comments after his side's 119-112 Christmas Day win against the New York Knicks.

The 76ers received terrific performances from both Harden, with 29 points (seven-of-16 shooting) and 13 assists, as well as back-to-back MVP runner-up Joel Embiid, who scored a team-high 35 points (12-of-22) with eight rebounds.

But despite improving their winning streak to eight games, the biggest news from the day was the report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski claiming Harden is seriously considering leaving Philadelphia at the end of this season to head back to his former team.

His contract includes a player-option for next season, meaning he can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent.

Harden reportedly has fond memories of his time with the Rockets – where he won three consecutive scoring titles and one league MVP – despite forcing his way out of the franchise just two seasons ago

When asked about the report during his post-game media appearance, Harden made no long-term commitment to the 76ers, simply saying he is "excited" to be in Philadelphia.

"I'm here," he said. "We're playing very well, and I don’t know where that report came from, but I’m excited to be here, and we're playing very well. We're continuing to get better."

Harden is currently leading the NBA in assists at 10.9 per game, and has looked back to his All-NBA level recently, including in Friday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers where his triple-double included a career-high 21 assists.

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden is considering a return to the Houston Rockets, according to reports.

Harden joined the 76ers in February in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, just a year after forcing his way out of Houston.

The 33-year-old, 10-time All-Star impressed as Philadelphia made the playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Miami Heat, and he re-signed on a two-year $68.6million deal in July.

However, according to ESPN, Harden is open to moving back to the Rockets should he fail to agree fresh terms with the Sixers after this season is up.

Harden, who spent eight seasons with the Rockets between 2012 and 2021, and was named the NBA's MVP in 2018, has rediscovered something close to his best form in Philadelphia after struggling to settle in Brooklyn.

His 10.9 assists per game leads the NBA, while he has scored 21.4 points per game.

Harden accumulated 20 points, 11 rebounds and 21 assists and became the second player in 76ers history with a 20-assist triple-double in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis will reportedly undergo further tests after an initial X-ray on his injured right hand was not enough to fully diagnose the problem.

Sabonis, 26, was a two-time All-Star with the Indiana Pacers before being traded this past season, and he has gone up a level with the surprisingly capable Kings.

The Lithuanian is averaging a career-high and league-leading 12.5 rebounds per game, while his 6.7 assists per game matches the career-high he set during his best All-Star season, and he is also shooting a career-best 61.2 per cent from the field.

Thanks in large part to his play, the Kings are sitting sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 17-14, and Sabonis has played in all 31 games up to this point.

That will likely change due to this hand injury, with a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski stating the team will be seeking further examination to determine if there is a more serious injury that needs to be addressed, or if it is purely a case of Sabonis' pain tolerance.

ESPN's report claims there is a chance Sabonis will be able to suit up for Tuesday's home game against the Denver Nuggets, while any absence would be a crushing blow for the Kings as they try to end the longest playoff drought in the NBA – having not played in the postseason since 2006.

Stephen Curry will not return to action in the next two weeks, although the Golden State Warriors say their star man is "making good progress".

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry suffered a shoulder subluxation earlier this month and was initially ruled out for "a few weeks".

The four-time champion refused to put a more accurate timeline on his recovery, but Warriors fans now know he will be missing for another fortnight.

An update from the Warriors, published on Christmas Eve, read: "Stephen Curry, who suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder on December 14 at Indiana and has missed the team’s last four games, was recently re-evaluated. 

"The re-evaluation indicated that Stephen is making good progress. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks."

The Warriors won the title last season but have struggled in 2022-23, with a losing record (15-18) for only the second time in the past 10 years. The other occasion saw Curry play only five games in 2019-20 (15-50).

Golden State are 14-12 with Curry in the team this season but 1-6 without him. Since his rookie season, they are 559-293 with Curry and 68-136 without him.

Despite the Warriors' relatively ordinary record even with Curry on the court this year, he is enjoying a fine individual season statistically.

The 34-year-old is averaging 30.0 points for only the third time in his career, while his 6.8 assists are his most since 2014-15 and his 6.6 rebounds represent a clear career high.

Only in his second MVP season in 2015-16 (50.4 per cent) has Curry shot more efficiently from the floor (50.0 per cent).

It's that time of year, which will warm the hearts of most but possibly send a chill down the spines of Denver Nuggets fans.

Denver are 1-6 (.143) all-time on Christmas Day, the second-worst record among active franchises, and they come up against last season's Western Conference top seeds this year.

Coach Michael Malone will be confident of providing a rare moment of Christmas cheer to their fans against the Phoenix Suns, though, with his team in excellent form heading into Sunday.

The Nuggets lead the Western Conference, tied with the Memphis Grizzlies at 20-11, and have picked up victories in six of their last seven.

Friday's 120-107 win against the Portland Trail Blazers was a good example of what has been Denver's strength this season, with Nikola Jokic leading the way with 29 points but also being ably backed up by the other four starters each scoring 13 or more.

The Suns have the fifth-best record in Christmas Day games at 12-7 (.632) and have also won each of their last two meetings with Denver.

However, Monty Williams' men have not been able to follow up their impressive 64-18 regular season record from last year, now 19-14 to sit fourth in the West.

A 125-100 defeat to the Grizzlies on Friday was chastening enough without the six losses from the prior nine games; five of those seven defeats have been by double-figures.

They have missed the influence of Devin Booker in their last three games, absent with a groin strain since he put up 58 points against the New Orleans Pelicans, and it remains to be seen if the man averaging 28.0 points per game this season will be back on Sunday.

The future looks bright for the Suns, with Mat Ishbia recently agreeing to a record $4billion purchase of the franchise, but their immediate target is to get back on track, starting by trying to dampen Denver's Christmas spirit even further.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Phoenix Suns – Chris Paul

Should he play, Booker will of course provide a significant boost for Phoenix, but if he is missing again, Williams will need someone to step up in his absence, which has not happened in their last two games.

The experienced Paul made a big contribution in the recent win over the Lakers, yet he has otherwise not been putting up his usual numbers this season. His plus/minus of 1.7 is well down on last year's 7.1, but if the 37-year-old can find his best form at Christmas, it could go a long way against a strong opponent.

Denver Nuggets – Nikola Jokic

The back-to-back league MVP keeps putting up numbers to compare with the greats of the game. In the recent win against the Charlotte Hornets, Jokic became the first man to finish a game with at least 40 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.

The Serbian star is averaging 24.9 points per game this season, as well as 10.9 rebounds and a career-best 9.3 assists.

KEY BATTLE – Nuggets' efficiency could decide contest

Denver are very good at putting the basketball through the hoop, which is quite helpful.

No team have a better success rate from beyond the arc than the Nuggets (38.9 per cent) this season, although no team have had fewer than their 923 attempts. Only the Sacramento Kings (943) have allowed fewer three-point attempts than the Suns (996).

The Nuggets are also second in the league for field-goal percentage, with their 50.6 per cent only behind the Brooklyn Nets (50.8).

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Phoenix won their last encounter in March, 140-130 at Ball Arena, which was their 100th victory against Denver in the regular season.

The Nuggets have only 85 wins against the Suns, with the last coming in October 2021, but they have won 18 of the last 23 clashes between the teams.

DeMar DeRozan did not "think too much" as he sealed a last-second victory for the Chicago Bulls against the New York Knicks on Friday.

After RJ Barrett had put the Knicks three ahead with under 30 seconds remaining at Madison Square Garden, Zach LaVine pulled it back to one, before Jalen Brunson missed two free-throws at the other end.

That gave DeRozan the chance to win it, which he did with a jumper from just inside the arc in the final second of the contest as Chicago left New York with a 118-117 victory.

"You don't think too much about it," DeRozan said, having hit just eight of his 20 field-goal attempts prior to that moment. 

"You just read the way they're playing you. It's second nature. I don't care how many shots I missed before. That's a brand-new opportunity and you approach it that way."

On the Knicks' profligacy from the free-throw line on the night, where they missed 11 of 26 attempts, DeRozan added: "I'm glad they missed. The bad luck we've had all season of things not going our way, some went our way tonight and we capitalised on it."

Barrett was the star performer for the Knicks, albeit in defeat, as he ended the game with 44 points, and coach Tom Thibodeau said it was the other end of the court where his team struggled.

"It wasn't any one particular play. I just felt like we never really got our defense established and it was an offensive game," Thibodeau said.

"It's hard to slow those guys down once they get their confidence going like they did. We missed some free throws. Things can change real fast in this league."

Luka Doncic's performance against the Houston Rockets was "a great Christmas gift", according to Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.

The impressive Slovenian was in the mood on Friday as the Mavericks beat their struggling opponents 112-106, with Doncic finishing on 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds at Toyota Center.

It was the second time the 23-year-old has scored 50 in a game, tying another European and Dallas great Dirk Nowitzki in achieving such a feat.

Speaking after the win that gave his team a 17-16 record, Kidd said Doncic's showing was "a great Christmas gift on a long road trip".

He added: "Luka is Luka. He's the best player in the world. He showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively... I don't know what else to say about him. He was incredible tonight."

It was also the fifth time Doncic has scored 45 or more points in a game, putting him ahead of former Maverick Mark Aguirre (four) for the most the team's history.

Doncic dominated the game, with no other Dallas player scoring more than 11, while Jabari Smith Jr top-scored for Houston with 24.

Rockets coach Stephen Silas praised his team's defense, but added they had to deal with "just too much Luka".

He added: "I'm not sure that he made an easy shot. We made every shot hard, and that's the greatness of a great player... That's what Luka does."