Four of the last five NBA Champions and five former Finals MVPs took to the floor on Christmas Day for an incredible slate of holiday games.

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a shock defeat to the New York Knicks, much to the delight of the crowd in Madison Square Garden. Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the Knicks snapped Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak, ending their lengthy skid against the Bucks with a 129 – 122 victory.

This ended a one-sided matchup for the Bucks, who had won the last nine meetings with the New York team. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for the Bucks and Khris Middleton added 24. Those totals were not enough to overcome an incredible show of team basketball and the Bucks are 9-2 for the month of December.

The marquee matchup was between the last two champions, with the Denver Nuggets playing host to the Golden State Warriors. The game was tight the entire way with seven ties and seven lead changes. The Nuggets managed some separation in the final stanza and held on down the stretch.

Jamal Murray scored 28 points, Nikola Jokic overcame an off day from the field by going 18 of 18 from the free throw line and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to five games. The Warriors, who were playing on Christmas Day for the 11th straight year, are now 5-2 since the indefinite suspension of Draymond Green.

The two most-storied franchises in NBA history also squared off as the Boston Celtics took on the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena. Led by Kristaps Porzingis with 28 points and 11 rebounds, all five starters had at least 18 points for the Celtics in a 126-115 win. Jayson Tatum added 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 19 points and Derrick White chipped in with 18 points and 11 assists for Boston, which has won three straight and 12 of their past 14.

Anthony Davis scored 40 points and had 15 rebounds in a losing effort for the Lakers who now fall to 16-15.

The Miami Heat also took a Yuletide victory as they stopped the Philadelphia 76ers train, that was plowing through teams in this most recent stretch. Playing without Joel Embiid, the Sixers were hoping to still be the sum of their parts against their opponents.

Miami rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr scored 31 points and got his first career double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and the Heat won 119-113.

The final tip-off of the day was between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. Luka Doncic capped a Christmas Day full of NBA games with a stellar performance, hitting 8 of 16 from 3 and all 12 of his free throws. He eclipsed 10,000 career points in the first quarter to reach the milestone in 358 career games, the seventh fastest in NBA history.

Chimezie Metu and Grayson Allen gave the Suns a lift off a bench which has been a weak spot at times this season.

However, Doncic exploded for 50 points and the Mavericks handed the Suns their third straight loss while winning their second in a row. Doncic has now joined Bernard King, Wilt Chamberlain, and Rick Barry in scoring 50 on Christmas Day.