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Anthony Davis ‘likely to miss a few games’ after leaving Mavericks-Warriors Christmas game with right groin spasms

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is likely to miss several upcoming games after suffering a groin injury on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Davis exited the Mavericks’ 126-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day after experiencing right-groin spasms. He ran to the sideline during the first half and didn’t return to the floor. 

Dallas ruled him out at halftime.

The Mavericks will reportedly evaluate Davis daily with the forward a potential trade target this season.

Davis tallied 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal before he left the game.

This injury for the 32-year-old Davis is the latest in a season and a career filled with them. Davis missed 14 consecutive games early in the season with a calf strain. He’s now missed 14 or more games in 11 of his 14 NBA seasons.

The Mavericks acquired Davis as the centerpiece of the return in the trade that sent franchise cornerstone and perennial All-NBA guard Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in his prime at 25 years old. They were aware of Davis’ injury history when they acquired him. 

Davis missed 24 of a possible 33 games with the Mavericks last season due to injury following the midseason trade. He’s missed 16 of 31 games this season and now appears to be in line to miss more time. The Mavericks dropped to 12-20 with Thursday’s loss, good for 11th place in the Western Conference. 

Nikola Jokić makes NBA history with 56-point triple-double against T’Wolves

The final matchup of the NBA’s five-game Christmas Day slate produced a rousing way to end a busy holiday of basketball.

The Denver Nuggets held on for a 142-138 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that featured a Nikola Jokić triple-double with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, as well as an eventful night from Anthony Edwards.

We’ll start with Edwards, who finished the game with 44 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 game-tying shot with 1.1 seconds to go in regulation, and 1 ejection.

The fifth 40-point game of the season for Edwards was highlighted by his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The game needed only an extra period because of the Timberwolves’ guard’s clutch shot late in regulation to erase a 15-point lead by Minnesota.

Edwards would not finish overtime, however, as he picked up his second technical foul with 20.5 seconds remaining.

On the other side, Jokić’s night saw him record the 179th triple-double of his career in the victory. The three-time MVP put up 18 points in the first quarter and completed his triple-double by the middle of the third quarter. He finished by scoring 18 of Denver’s 27 points in overtime for the first 55/15/15 game in NBA history.

Jokić’s 56 points puts him third all-time on the NBA’s Christmas Day scoring list behind Bernard King (60) and Wilt Chamberlain (59). He also seems to enjoy playing the Timberwolves after posting triple-doubles in each of his past four games against Minnesota, which includes his career-high of 61 points last April.

“Bro, it’s unbelievable. We’re watching history on a night-to-night basis,” Nuggets guard Peyton Watson said afterward.

The win improved the Nuggets to 22-8 as they sit second in the Northwest Division, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Timberwolves. Denver remains in third place in the Western Conference, one game behind the San Antonio Spurs and 3 1/2 games behind the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

Player grades: Thunder enjoy get-right game in 129-104 win over Sixers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Splitting a pair of free-throw attempts, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended his night as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter. That was all asked out of him in a mostly stress-free game. He clocked out of his shift earlier than expected. First time in a long time for the reigning MVP.

The Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed a much-needed runaway game with a 129-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a get-right performance as they returned to their dominant ways.

That wasn’t the case early on, though. Don’t get me wrong, the Thunder offense was rolling. It looked elementary out there. Isaiah Hartenstein fed a bounce pass to Jalen Williams on the baseline cut for the open dunk. The only problem is that the Sixers had the same fun on their end.

Tyrese Maxey was unstoppable from the jump. He made Lu Dort and Alex Caruso look incredibly slow. He was too fast for OKC’s perimeter defenders as he blew by them for layups. The Thunder had a 32-29 lead after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw much of the same. The Thunder offense was humming along, but so was the Sixers when they had the ball. Maxey had an unreal 23 points in the first half. It’s impressive enough when an undersized ball-handler puts that up in any game against the league-best defense. Much less in one half.

The Thunder scored 32 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 64-62 lead over the Sixers. Paired with a puppet halftime show that had the entire OKC crowd quiet and confused, there were some pretty bizarro vibes from the first half.

Eventually, the Thunder returned to their defensive ways. Playing elite one-on-one defense, Caruso forced Maxey to put up a Hail Mary attempt from deep. Gilgeous-Alexander went the other way for the underhanded layup. Chet Holmgren hunted for his shot. They scored 38 points in the third frame to create some cushion on the scoreboard.

The Thunder had a 102-86 lead over the Sixers. Besides a couple of injury scares, everything was going right. Gilgeous-Alexander rested in the final frame. They scored 27 points in the final frame to fluff up the margin. They led by as many as 27 points.

The Thunder shot 58% from the field and went 10-of-28 (35.7%) from 3. They shot 19-of-25 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 50 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points and five assists. Holmgren had an efficient 29 points and nine rebounds. Williams tallied 14 points, six assists and four rebounds. Ajay Mitchell had 13 points and three assists in his return. Aaron Wiggins scored 15 points.

Meanwhile, the Sixers shot 42% from the field and went 17-of-43 (39.5%) from 3. They shot 17-of-21 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 35 baskets. Seven Sixers players scored double-digit points.

Maxey led the way with an efficient 28 points and five assists. Paul George had 12 points and four rebounds in his return to OKC. VJ Edgecombe struggled with 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Quentin Grimes had 13 points and three assists. Adem Bona tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. Justin Edwards scored 12 points. Jared McCain had 10 points and four rebounds.

Back to business as usual for the Thunder. The Sixers have been a cute story this season, but the reigning NBA champions are several tiers ahead. They snapped a two-game losing streak as a nice palate cleanser after their Christmas Day debacle. The defense needs to be tightened better throughout the entire game, but OKC showed it can still flip the switch when needed.

The Thunder finally grabbed a win with the starting lineup that won them an NBA championship last year. Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren looked like a pair of future All-Star teammates in about two months. A strong second half put this one away and allowed viewers to tune back into their NFL action.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus

Getting Edwards to bite on the pump-fake, Gilgeous-Alexander took a giraffe-esque step forward. He switched hands with the ball as he went up for the easy layup that should make his highlight reel. The footwork remains impeccable. That’s one way to score your last bucket.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting, five assists and two rebounds. He shot 0-of-2 from 3 and went 7-of-9 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Considering how many holes Philadelphia’s defense has, this was light work for Gilgeous-Alexander. Sporting a new ‘Clean Slate’ bright white colorway shoe, there weren’t many marks or creases carved into them. Things were too easy for the drive-heavy scorer. He sliced through the Sixers’ defense as Joel Embiid sat out.

That got him into a flow. Gilgeous-Alexander dribbled to his favorite mid-range spots. He pulled up at the elbow on several Philadelphia defenders. None could cause enough disruption. This was a vintage outing as the reigning MVP did all his scoring damage in the paint, around the mid-range and at the free-throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander helped put this one away early with 11 points in the third quarter. Chilling on the bench the rest of the way, the Thunder badly needed this. At the very least, to get their confidence back up. The following days after Christmas had fans question if they’re the true title favorite.

This showed why that’s the case. The Thunder remain an NBA win machine. One blip at home shouldn’t erase all of that work over the years. As long as Gilgeous-Alexander suits up, OKC will always have a chance against any opponent. Even if they look daunting.

Chet Holmgren: A-plus

Going at Dominick Barlow, Holmgren went into the post. A couple of spin moves and shoulder shimmies later, he flipped through enough angles to create just enough space. He went with the turnaround that rattled in. One minute in, that was the only sign you needed to see to know we were due a big game.

Holmgren finished with 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had four blocks.

Stuck in his own head in these last two matchups against San Antonio, Holmgren’s confidence soared through the floor and became visible once again. He utilized his lanky frame to back up into the post and swish in a couple of fadeaway jumpers over defenders’ reach.

When Holmgren didn’t do that, he caught a handful of alley-oop passes. He was active throughout the night. When the ball reached his possession, he hunted for his shot. The Sixers had no answers to slow him down as a scorer. Several undersized players didn’t have the defensive talent to throw him off-kilter.

On the other end, Holmgren looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. This was the best he’s looked as a rim protector in a while. After a hot first half, the Sixers went cold in the second half. Maxey only had five points in the latter two quarters as the open lanes were no longer there.

This is the peak version of Holmgren. He’s shown this season that he can put up buckets when needed. It’s all consistency for him. And specifically, against the NBA’s best teams. No offense to the Sixers, but they were treated as a get-right opponent. Now that he’s got a little bit of swagger, it’s about leveraging that confidence for higher-stakes matchups.

Jalen Williams: B-minus

Staying on Grimes, Williams redirected the ball away from him. He out-raced him for the loose ball and went straight to the rim for the steal-and-score sequence. The Thunder piled the Sixers on the scoreboard in the second half to put this one away.

Williams finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 6-of-7 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Not much was needed from Williams in this one. He played within the flow of the offense. The drives to the basket resulted in either buckets or drawn fouls. That will likely be his bread and butter until his wrist feels more normalized. That’s been an ongoing battle this season.

Daigneault said pregame that Williams has to get used to his new normal with his surgically-repaired wrist. Which likely explains why the scoring efficiency numbers aren’t near where they were last season when he broke out as an All-NBA player for the first time.

Williams’ jumper wasn’t there once again. He had several misses from his usual signature spots. He badly missed a pull-up outside shot that was nowhere near the rim. The Thunder can survive his return pains for now. But if they want to go back-to-back, they need him to return to being a more reliable shooter.

Ajay Mitchell: A

Faking the pass, Mitchell had Edgecombe in the air. That split-second was enough for him to put the ball down and drive to the basket. He flew up for the floater that was out of Bonas’ reach. His finesse and scoring talent were badly missed in OKC’s last two losses.

Mitchell finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, three assists and one rebound. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Out of concussion protocol, Thunder fans were excited that Mitchell returned. While not the sole reason for their two losses to the Spurs, the second unit’s minutes badly missed his ability to create and keep things moving. You saw why folks thought that as he slid right back into things against the Sixers.

When the ball swung to him, Mitchell wasn’t afraid to put up a shot. He could also drive his way to the basket. He’s not afraid to get physical with defenders. Andre Drummond roaming the paint didn’t scare him off. The Thunder need that type of personality on their offense.

Breaking up an alley-oop, Mitchell limped for a couple of possessions. He eventually checked out and went to the locker room. It’ll be interesting to see his status on the second night of this home back-to-back against the Atlanta Hawks. Even though OKC collected the win, rotation players like Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe were all knocked out with injuries.

Aaron Wiggins: B

Punching the ball out of Philadelphia’s possession, Wiggins created another transition opportunity. Running the break, Wiggins eventually caught the look-ahead pass. He threw down the fastbreak dunk in the final seconds of a game-winning third quarter.

Wiggins finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, three rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had two steals.

For the first time in a while, Wiggins looked him his early-season self. He sliced through the Sixers’ defense. Savvy off-ball cuts were rewarded with easy layups. He finished through traffic as the game got out of hand. He even saw a couple of outside jumpers fall in.

A nagging adductor injury has hindered Wiggins. You can tell that he’s not playing at the same speed or ferociousness since he first sustained the injury early in the season. This was the first time that wasn’t the case, though. Shoutout to the Sixers for letting everybody in OKC get its mojo back.

Highlights:

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder enjoy get-right game in 129-104 win over Sixers

Bears at 49ers: Week 17 SNF open thread

Sunday Night Football this week is a battle between two of the top teams in the NFC: the 11-4 Chicago Bears versus the also 11-4 49ers. The NFC’s No. 1 seed could be at stake. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. EST on NBC.

As always, who are you rooting for? What are you watching for? And who do have in fantasy football?

Let us know in the comments, and enjoy the game.

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The Steelers fumbled the AFC North title in Week 17, but it isn’t over

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday setting up a winner-take-all matchup in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens for the AFCNorth division championship. The winner is in the playoffs, the loser goes home.

It has an excellent chance of being the final game of the 2025 regular season on Sunday Night Football.

As of right now, the fourth seed would play the Houston Texans.

AFC North Standings

The Steelers could have clinched with a Ravens loss on Saturday or a Steelers win on Sunday. Niether of those happened.

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
  2. Baltimore Ravens 8-8
  3. Cincinnati Bengals 6-10
  4. Cleveland Browns 4-12
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Updated AFC playoff picture

In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.

In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.

1. Denver Broncos (13-3)
2. New England Patriots (13-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
5. Houston Texans (11-5)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
7. Buffalo Bills (11-5)
9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.

Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!

The Ravens won and the Steelers lost, setting up an epic Week 18

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night despite missing Lamar Jackson. It means Baltimore stayed alive in the AFC postseason race for at least one more day. With the Pittsburgh Steelers loss on Sunday, the Ravens have set up a Week 18 winner-take-all game for the AFC North.

AFC North standings

The Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon when they could have secured the division championship with a win. We are on to Week 18.

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
  2. Baltimore Ravens 8-8
  3. Cincinnati Bengals 6-10
  4. Cleveland Browns 4-12

Updated AFC playoff picture

In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.

In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.

1. Denver Broncos (13-3)
2. New England Patriots (13-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
5. Houston Texans (11-5)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
7. Buffalo Bills (11-5)
9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.

Eliminated from AFC playoff contention

  • Indianapolis Colts
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • New York Jets
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Las Vegas Raiders

5 takeaways from the Bills’ 13-12 loss to the Eagles

The Buffalo Bills lost a heartbreaking in Week 17 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

In a rainy affair, the Bills (11-5) did more of the same against the Eagles (11-5). Buffalo crawled and willed their way back into the game after trailing 13-0.

With that same score on the board heading into the fourth quarter, the Bills and quarterback Josh Allen willed their back, bringing the score to 13-12 in the final seconds. In the end, the chips did not fall their way in a defeat.

With that, here are Bills Wire’s takeaways from the Bills’ loss to the Eagles:

Starts still stale

It was not back-to-back touchdown efforts by the Eagles to start the game. Just one and two field goals.

However, the Bills did start this outing with 13-straight points allowed. It’s not as poor of a start to a game as recent weeks. Buffalo could still start a contest better… especially before the postseason.

Allen’s magic falls short

In the end, the usual magic from Bills quarterback Josh Allen was not there.

Not only did Buffalo’s two-point attempt fail at the end of this via a poor pass from Allen, the QB was stopped at the goal line earlier on in the second half on a fourth-down attempt.

Cook bottled up

Despite Bills running back James Cook putting up 74 rushing yards… the Eagles mostly bottled him him. Cook averaged 3.7 yards per carry and in the comeback effort, it all clearly fell on Allen’s shoulders and his injured foot.

Defense continues turnarounds

While the Bills did allow points early, the trend of tightening things up defensively continued in a big way.

The outcome

The Bills and the AFC East are no more. Buffalo’s streak of divisional titles will end of five-straight. The New England Patriots (13-3) will take that honor home in 2026.

Hopefully the Bills use that as motivation.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 5 takeaways from the Bills’ 13-12 loss to the Eagles

Raiders inch closer to No. 1 pick in losing ‘Tank Bowl’ 34-10

New York Giants quarterback Jaxon Dart (6) celebrates in the endzone after scoring a touchdown during a NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants, Sunday December 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nev.

LAS VEGAS — If you were among the announced crowd of 62,201 at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, you received a rally towel inscribed “Just Win Baby.”

Problem was, who were the fans that received the towels supposed to root for to win?

The 2-13 Raiders and the 2-13 New York Giants are vying for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. To get there, one of them needed to lose this game, then lose the next week in order to have the worst record in the league.

If you were a fan of either team, you were hoping they’d find a way to deliver and come up short. For the fans, it’s about the future, not the present.

Welcome to the “Tank Bowl,” which the Raiders won by losing 34-10. Las Vegas, which has dropped 10 straight games,  still has one hurdle left to stumble over, that being next Sunday at home against Patrick Mahomes-less Kansas City. Lose to the Chiefs and the Raiders will own the first pick and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza can start house-hunting in Henderson. I’m sure he can find something in the Seven Hills neighborhood near the Raiders’ headquarters.

“We haven’t found a way to win,” a dejected Pete Carroll said afterwards. “I had no place in my mind to see this.”

The Raiders tried to do their part prior to kickoff, putting Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers, their two best players, on ice for the remainder of the season, while also sitting safety Jeremy Chinn. The Giants also sat some of their regulars as well, including a couple of starting offensive linemen.

That left it up to those who did suit up to show they weren’t tanking. That includes the coaches, Carroll and Mike Kafka, both of whose futures remain uncertain.

“All those guys were hurt,” Carroll said. “We tried to pick it up for Max. Everyone tried. We knew we’d be different. We also knew there’d be a void there. There’s not much we can do to re-create that football player.

“Maxx was heartbroken he couldn’t play. I don’t blame him one bit for being upset. It breaks my heart that he can’t finish the season (on the field).”

So with the league office carefully observing every snap, the NFL’s two worst teams went at it. And with Raider fans cheering on the Giants and Giants fans pulling for the Raiders, it created as weird an atmosphere at a sporting event as you’ll ever see.

As for the players, they ignored it. After all, guys are playing for their futures and no team is going to want to keep someone who was accused of not trying and giving 100 percent.

Certainly the Giants weren’t taking a dive. Particularly their rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who played as if this were a playoff game and performed admirably in victory. Dart threw for 207 yards and ran for a pair of scores — a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the fourth. It certainly didn’t hurt Dart in not having to deal with Crosby.

And after Tyler Lockett scored late in the third quarter, the special teams responded as Deonte Banks took the kickoff back 95 yards for a TD to answer the Lockett score.

As for his Raiders counterpart, Geno Smith had a typical performance, some good, some bad and not enough positive plays when he needed to make them. He was booed when introduced with the other offensive starters and he would finish with 176 yards, two interceptions and a TD on 20-of-28 passing before he got clobbered after throwing his second interception early in the fourth quarter and was helped off the field with an injured ankle. Kenny Pickett finished up as Smith went to the Raiders’ locker room.

Carroll said after the game that Smith has a high-ankle sprain. It’s possible we’ve seen the last of Geno in a Raiders uniform. And if that’s the case, it will be hailed as an epic failure on Carroll’s part believing he could turn back the clock to when his quarterback was successful while both were in Seattle. He is the NFL’s leader in interceptions thrown with 17 and quarterback sacks taken with 55.

So with things remaining in disarray, the Raiders get one last chance to try and cleanse themselves of the stench of losing. And while there’e no Mahomes to deal with, there’s still the Chiefs’ winning pedigree, a defense run by Steve Spagnulo which will be looking to make life difficult for whoever is playing quarterback for Las Vegas and a fan base that will be pulling for the visitors to do to the Raiders what the Giants did on Sunday.

As for Carroll, his fate may very well be sealed at this point. But he believes he still has ownership’s support.

Does he? We still haven’t heard a word from general manager John Spytek. Owner Mark Davis has been quiet as well. And the only talking Tom Brady is doing is on Fox’s NFL games that he works.

We’ll likely get some clarity on everything in a week when this disastrous season reaches its conclusion. In the meantime, we’re about to see the unimaginable happen, that being Raider Nation joining the Chiefs Kingdom for a day inside Allegiant Stadium next Sunday. But maybe pass on handing out those “Just Win Baby” towels.

The Chargers lost but didn’t fall too far in the AFC playoff picture

The Los Angeles Chargers lost on Saturday to the Houston Texans and several outcomes cascaded. The Chargers can no longer win the AFC West and the Denver Broncos clinched the division in the biggest one. Secondly, the Chargers fell from fifth to seventh in the playoff race. They still have a playoff spot clinched.

Los Angeles moved back up to sixth on Sunday when the Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Current AFC standings

In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.

In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.

1. Denver Broncos (13-3)
2. New England Patriots (13-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
5. Houston Texans (11-5)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
7. Buffalo Bills (11-5)
9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.