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Nikola Jokic’s historic Christmas game set NBA records and had Charles Barkely groveling

Nikola Jokic’s historic Christmas game set NBA records and had Charles Barkely groveling

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Nikola Jokic was locked in from the opening tip of the 2025 NBA Christmas day finale between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Jokic ripped a three-pointer on Denver’s first possession en route to an 18-point first quarter with the Nuggets missing three starters with injuries. From there, the 30-year-old big man spent most of his time hitting the glass, getting his teammates involved, and consistently forcing his way to the free throw line to slow down Minnesota’s running attack.

It felt like the Nuggets were on their way to a comfortable victory with a 15-point lead with under six minutes remaining in regulation. That’s when the Timberwolves’ offense roared back to form, tying the game on a nasty Anthony Edwards step-back three from the corner at the end of regulation. Jokic needed to go to work for five more minutes, and he made sure he team wasn’t leaving a Christmas game with coal in the extra session.

The Nuggets beat the Wolves, 142-138, in overtime thanks to a historic performance from Jokic that again makes him the MVP front-runner and asserts his place among the game’s all-time greats. Jokic finished with 56 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists, setting multiple NBA records in the process:

The Nuggets were without starters Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun, but Jokic wouldn’t let them lose. The Wolves ended Denver’s dreams of back-to-back championships in the 2024 playoffs, and this remains one of the best rivalries in the league. Edwards (44 points) and Julius Randle (32 points) were outstanding for Minnesota, but Jokic consistently beat Rudy Gobert inside and delivered his team an incredible win.

There are so many incredible stats from Jokic’s Christmas day masterpiece. Let’s go over a few of them.

ESPN commentator Charles Barkley was in awe of Jokic during the game:

On a day when the Thunder lost to the Spurs for the third time this season, it feels like Jokic passed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA MVP race. Jokic already has three MVP awards, and he would pass Magic Johnson and Larry Bird while tying LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain if he wins his fourth.

Beyond that, this performance is just another reminder that Jokic is an all-time great. Any list of the best big men in NBA history has to include Jokic alongside Shaq, Wilt, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jokic only has one championship ring so far, but this is the sixth straight season he’s been the best player in the world. It’s already one of the longest runs of dominance ever, and he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Jokic was famously drafted during the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft as ESPN was playing a Taco Bell commercial. Denver gave away Taco Bell shirts ahead of the Christmas game, and Jokic arrived wearing a Taco Bell cardigan:

Jokic is greatness personified. Appreciate an all-time NBA player at his peak while you can.

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Deadspin | Rockies, Red Sox fall short of standards set in World Series meeting Jun 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Nineteen years ago, the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies battled in the World Series. Things have changed since 2007, when Boston swept Colorado to win its second championship in four seasons. Now the teams will open a three-game series Monday night in Denver, not as title contenders but as basement dwellers. Boston sits in last place in the American League East while Colorado is in a familiar position — last in the National League West. The Rockies have finished last in four consecutive seasons, losing 100-plus games in the past three. The current series will begin with rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79 ERA) of the Red Sox opposing Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05). Bennett won his major league debut on May 1 and has pitched well in two stints with the Red Sox. He made two starts after his first call-up from Triple-A Worcester but was optioned back to Worcester after suffering an 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 7. He returned June 10 and has made two more starts, losing both. In his most recent outing, he gave up two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday to Toronto, but Boston’s offense didn’t give him any support in a 3-0 loss. The frustration has mounted for the Red Sox, who are accustomed to fighting for a playoff spot. They are coming off a series win in Seattle against the Mariners over the weekend but have struggled to find consistency. “I think it’s the same thing we’ve been through literally the whole season, because we always put the runners in scoring position, but we couldn’t get the hit to drive in runs,” Wilyer Abreu said recently. “So we keep working hard. We’ll try to be better in those situations and try to drive the runs in.” Colorado, despite occupying last place, has shown improvement. The Rockies took two of three games from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend to win their 30th game, a mark they didn’t reach last season until Aug. 2 — also against the Pirates. The Rockies nearly had their 31st after trailing 8-1 Sunday, but a five-run rally in the eighth and ninth innings fell short for an 8-6 loss. Feltner will try to get a victory in his fifth start since returning from the injured list on May 30. He is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in those four starts and had just one bad outing, when he gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings to the Chicago Cubs on June 11, a 9-3 loss. He bounced back Tuesday in his next outing — also against Chicago — but a high pitch count (104) cost him a chance at a win when he was pulled after giving up two runs and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. The Rockies posted a 5-2 victory. Feltner will face Boston for the first time in his six-year career, which spans 77 appearances (76 starts). Outside of Tomoyuki Sugano, Feltner has been Colorado’s most reliable starter, but he doesn’t think in those terms. “I’m not a huge goal-setting guy, and I feel like that falls under that,” Feltner said after a recent start. “I just like to stick to my process and execute that to the best of my abilities. The best way I can say it is I’d like to just look up one day and realize where I am, instead of striving for something — it puts extra pressure on things.” –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Rockies #Red #Sox #fall #short #standards #set #World #Series #meetingJun 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Nineteen years ago, the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies battled in the World Series.

Things have changed since 2007, when Boston swept Colorado to win its second championship in four seasons.

Now the teams will open a three-game series Monday night in Denver, not as title contenders but as basement dwellers. Boston sits in last place in the American League East while Colorado is in a familiar position — last in the National League West.

The Rockies have finished last in four consecutive seasons, losing 100-plus games in the past three.

The current series will begin with rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79 ERA) of the Red Sox opposing Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05).

Bennett won his major league debut on May 1 and has pitched well in two stints with the Red Sox. He made two starts after his first call-up from Triple-A Worcester but was optioned back to Worcester after suffering an 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 7.

He returned June 10 and has made two more starts, losing both. In his most recent outing, he gave up two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday to Toronto, but Boston’s offense didn’t give him any support in a 3-0 loss.

The frustration has mounted for the Red Sox, who are accustomed to fighting for a playoff spot. They are coming off a series win in Seattle against the Mariners over the weekend but have struggled to find consistency.


“I think it’s the same thing we’ve been through literally the whole season, because we always put the runners in scoring position, but we couldn’t get the hit to drive in runs,” Wilyer Abreu said recently. “So we keep working hard. We’ll try to be better in those situations and try to drive the runs in.”

Colorado, despite occupying last place, has shown improvement. The Rockies took two of three games from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend to win their 30th game, a mark they didn’t reach last season until Aug. 2 — also against the Pirates.

The Rockies nearly had their 31st after trailing 8-1 Sunday, but a five-run rally in the eighth and ninth innings fell short for an 8-6 loss.

Feltner will try to get a victory in his fifth start since returning from the injured list on May 30. He is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in those four starts and had just one bad outing, when he gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings to the Chicago Cubs on June 11, a 9-3 loss.

He bounced back Tuesday in his next outing — also against Chicago — but a high pitch count (104) cost him a chance at a win when he was pulled after giving up two runs and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. The Rockies posted a 5-2 victory.

Feltner will face Boston for the first time in his six-year career, which spans 77 appearances (76 starts).

Outside of Tomoyuki Sugano, Feltner has been Colorado’s most reliable starter, but he doesn’t think in those terms.

“I’m not a huge goal-setting guy, and I feel like that falls under that,” Feltner said after a recent start. “I just like to stick to my process and execute that to the best of my abilities. The best way I can say it is I’d like to just look up one day and realize where I am, instead of striving for something — it puts extra pressure on things.”

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Rockies #Red #Sox #fall #short #standards #set #World #Series #meeting">Deadspin | Rockies, Red Sox fall short of standards set in World Series meeting Jun 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Nineteen years ago, the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies battled in the World Series. Things have changed since 2007, when Boston swept Colorado to win its second championship in four seasons. Now the teams will open a three-game series Monday night in Denver, not as title contenders but as basement dwellers. Boston sits in last place in the American League East while Colorado is in a familiar position — last in the National League West. The Rockies have finished last in four consecutive seasons, losing 100-plus games in the past three. The current series will begin with rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79 ERA) of the Red Sox opposing Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05). Bennett won his major league debut on May 1 and has pitched well in two stints with the Red Sox. He made two starts after his first call-up from Triple-A Worcester but was optioned back to Worcester after suffering an 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 7. He returned June 10 and has made two more starts, losing both. In his most recent outing, he gave up two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday to Toronto, but Boston’s offense didn’t give him any support in a 3-0 loss. The frustration has mounted for the Red Sox, who are accustomed to fighting for a playoff spot. They are coming off a series win in Seattle against the Mariners over the weekend but have struggled to find consistency. “I think it’s the same thing we’ve been through literally the whole season, because we always put the runners in scoring position, but we couldn’t get the hit to drive in runs,” Wilyer Abreu said recently. “So we keep working hard. We’ll try to be better in those situations and try to drive the runs in.” Colorado, despite occupying last place, has shown improvement. The Rockies took two of three games from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend to win their 30th game, a mark they didn’t reach last season until Aug. 2 — also against the Pirates. The Rockies nearly had their 31st after trailing 8-1 Sunday, but a five-run rally in the eighth and ninth innings fell short for an 8-6 loss. Feltner will try to get a victory in his fifth start since returning from the injured list on May 30. He is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in those four starts and had just one bad outing, when he gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings to the Chicago Cubs on June 11, a 9-3 loss. He bounced back Tuesday in his next outing — also against Chicago — but a high pitch count (104) cost him a chance at a win when he was pulled after giving up two runs and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. The Rockies posted a 5-2 victory. Feltner will face Boston for the first time in his six-year career, which spans 77 appearances (76 starts). Outside of Tomoyuki Sugano, Feltner has been Colorado’s most reliable starter, but he doesn’t think in those terms. “I’m not a huge goal-setting guy, and I feel like that falls under that,” Feltner said after a recent start. “I just like to stick to my process and execute that to the best of my abilities. The best way I can say it is I’d like to just look up one day and realize where I am, instead of striving for something — it puts extra pressure on things.” –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Rockies #Red #Sox #fall #short #standards #set #World #Series #meeting

#Wyndham #Clark #twotime #major #champion #dont #mad">Wyndham Clark is a two-time major champion, and you don’t have to be mad about it Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open on Sunday. He did so at Shinnecock Hills. His win was just the ninth ever, the first in over a decade, where someone went wire-to-wire without any ties. Again… at the U.S. Open.What’s more is that Clark has won the national championship before. He is now a two-time U.S. Open winner and won his two titles within a four-year span. Everything about every word that I have said here so far is undeniably impressive.Unfortunately, Wyndham Clark is not exactly the most popular player on the PGA Tour. That was, also unfortunately, a big part of his victory on Sunday.You don’t have to be mad about thisLet’s start right now and say this: You can feel any way you want to.Be mad that Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open again. Tweet about it. Maybe you were on the grounds at Shinnecock and among those voicing your displeasure for him while trying to manifest Literally Anyone Else winning the tournament.My objective here isn’t to tell anyone how to behave because I don’t think that makes sense to do. Goodness gracious though… Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open! And people are hellbent on belittling it as much as possible.If you are new around here then you may not know that Wyndham, upon not performing well, damaged lockers at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont. In the now year that has passed I have never seen anybody justify this in any capacity. It is hard to get universal agreement on anything on the internet, but it seems that we have that here. Wyndham doing that was not cool. It was embarrassing. It was lame. Whatever.Wyndham has also apologized for this many times over the last year. It was a constant talking point during NBC’s broadcast of the tournament. Once more, no one is justifying his behavior (or the club toss that he had at the PGA Championship in 2025 as well as the Oakmont incident) in any kind of way. No one is even telling you that you have to change your mind about how you feel about it all.Is it not unfortunate though that Wyndham just conquered (arguably) golf’s most difficult test (for a second time in four years) and that people are holding his feet to the fire about this? That he fought off boos and negative comments throughout his championship-winning round on Sunday?No part of me is trying to act like the Golf Police here, but if people are so concerned with the transgressions against the game that Wyndham committed… isn’t this public shame/discourse/criticism counter to the game’s principles, too? I’m not comparing anything. I’m just saying that this feels like an intense obession at this point.Even if you want to have the passionate feelings about this, you are more than welcome to as noted. Clark winning a golf tournament isn’t exactly some magic twist of the universe that will force you to change your mind.Maybe just… don’t put all of that intense energy out? All of the time? Because it is hardly doing anything positive? #Wyndham #Clark #twotime #major #champion #dont #mad

Indian women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has called for improved field-goal conversion despite his team’s successful return to the FIH Pro League after winning the Nations Cup.

India defeated host New Zealand 2-0 in Sunday’s final, courtesy of goals from Navneet Kaur and Sunelita Toppo, to clinch its second Nations Cup title and secure promotion to the Pro League.

“Of course, we are delighted to win our first tournament and final together,” Marijne said after the victory.

“It was crucial for us to learn how to win finals, especially after our recent heartbreak against England in the World Cup qualifier. The team improved with every match. We relied on a very strong and well-organised defence.”

The Dutch coach, however, said India’s finishing from open play still requires improvement.

“While we created enough opportunities to score more, that remains an area where we must keep working. Our penalty-corner conversion was very good throughout this tournament. If we can achieve a higher conversion rate for field goals, that will be fantastic.”

Marijne also acknowledged the challenge of entering the competition as the highest-ranked team.

“It is never easy to win a tournament when you enter as the highest-ranked team. We showed that we can manage that pressure well.

“Moving forward, playing against the top teams in the world will provide an important learning process for our youngsters. Testing ourselves at the highest level is exactly what we need to grow to the next tier.”

India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, defeating the USA, Japan and Uruguay in the group stage before overcoming Chile in the semifinal.

Striker Lalremsiami was named Player of the Final, while drag-flicker Deepika finished joint top scorer with six goals alongside USA’s Ashley Sessa.

Hockey India announced a cash reward of Rs. 3 lakh for each player and Rs. 1.5 lakh for every member of the support staff.

Team effort

Captain Salima Tete said the title was a reward for the team’s preparation.

“It feels absolutely amazing to lift this trophy. Our entire team worked incredibly hard for this moment. We entered this tournament with a clear mindset to bring the trophy home. Securing promotion back to the Pro League was extremely important for us. I am proud that we achieved our goal.”

Looking ahead to the World Cup in August, Salima added: “This victory provides a massive boost to our confidence. The team is playing with a very strong mindset right now. Every single match in this tournament was highly important for us. This win gives us the perfect momentum for our future preparations.”

Published on Jun 22, 2026

#Marijne #sharper #finishing #India #womens #team #seals #Pro #League #return">Marijne wants sharper finishing after India women’s team seals Pro League return Indian women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has called for improved field-goal conversion despite his team’s successful return to the FIH Pro League after winning the Nations Cup.India defeated host New Zealand 2-0 in Sunday’s final, courtesy of goals from Navneet Kaur and Sunelita Toppo, to clinch its second Nations Cup title and secure promotion to the Pro League.“Of course, we are delighted to win our first tournament and final together,” Marijne said after the victory.“It was crucial for us to learn how to win finals, especially after our recent heartbreak against England in the World Cup qualifier. The team improved with every match. We relied on a very strong and well-organised defence.”The Dutch coach, however, said India’s finishing from open play still requires improvement.“While we created enough opportunities to score more, that remains an area where we must keep working. Our penalty-corner conversion was very good throughout this tournament. If we can achieve a higher conversion rate for field goals, that will be fantastic.”Marijne also acknowledged the challenge of entering the competition as the highest-ranked team.“It is never easy to win a tournament when you enter as the highest-ranked team. We showed that we can manage that pressure well.“Moving forward, playing against the top teams in the world will provide an important learning process for our youngsters. Testing ourselves at the highest level is exactly what we need to grow to the next tier.”India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, defeating the USA, Japan and Uruguay in the group stage before overcoming Chile in the semifinal.Striker Lalremsiami was named Player of the Final, while drag-flicker Deepika finished joint top scorer with six goals alongside USA’s Ashley Sessa.Hockey India announced a cash reward of Rs. 3 lakh for each player and Rs. 1.5 lakh for every member of the support staff.Team effortCaptain Salima Tete said the title was a reward for the team’s preparation.“It feels absolutely amazing to lift this trophy. Our entire team worked incredibly hard for this moment. We entered this tournament with a clear mindset to bring the trophy home. Securing promotion back to the Pro League was extremely important for us. I am proud that we achieved our goal.”Looking ahead to the World Cup in August, Salima added: “This victory provides a massive boost to our confidence. The team is playing with a very strong mindset right now. Every single match in this tournament was highly important for us. This win gives us the perfect momentum for our future preparations.”Published on Jun 22, 2026 #Marijne #sharper #finishing #India #womens #team #seals #Pro #League #return

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