Five-Star Review: Clips stifle Warriors, Wade spoils LBJ's return

We've got all the action review you need. (USATSI)

CLIPS CLAMP DOWN: The Warriors had an uncharacteristically cold night offensively, shooting 42.5 percent from the field. They also, weirdly, shot just 12-for-22 from the free throw line and missed 22 of their 28 attempts from behind the 3-point line. The Clippers deserve credit for a lot of this -- Chris Paul did a great job sticking with Stephen Curry, and in general their effort level was much better than normal.

Los Angeles missed 16 of its first 17 shots of the game, but amazingly only trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter. Golden State, missing Andrew Bogut and struggling to integrate David Lee, had a stinker of a fourth, shooting 5-for-22 and looking a lot less fluid than we're used to seeing them. This was not the shootout we were hoping for.

Jamal Crawford had one of those Jamal Crawford games. He scored a game-high 24 points in 28 minutes off the bench. None of the other Clips reserves did much of anything, but that didn't matter this time.

The Warriors have lost two straight -- they fell to the Lakers on Tuesday -- but there's no sense panicking. They still have the league's best record, and they face the Timberwolves and Sixers next.

UNHAPPY HOLIDAY: I feel bad for Justin Holiday, who found himself matched up one-on-one with Paul at the end of the third quarter. Yeeeeesh.

"BOOM!" : Clippers owner Steve Ballmer really loved DeAndre Jordan's alley-oop slam from Paul.

FEELING FESTIVE: You have to appreciate Spencer Hawes' boldness with his fashion choice. The Clippers big man, who is sidelined with a bone bruise, made a hell of a statement with his Christmas Day suit. Reggie Miller and Marv Albert got on his case about it:

STEPH IS A GENIUS: While his team had an off night, Curry still finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. His prettiest assist came early in the game to Marreese Speights, after a nasty dribble move to split Paul and Blake Griffin.

UNSUNG HERO: If the Warriors had been able to score a few more points, Draymond Green might be the story of the game. He guarded Griffin as well as anybody has, using his size, strength, quickness and intelligence. The star power forward still finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, but he shot 5-for-16 and got absolutely nothing easy with Green on him.

TWO EXTREMES: Andre Iguodala had two opportunities for highlight dunks. One of them worked out really well.

The other, not so much.

YOU CAN'T GO HOME (TO YOUR SECOND HOME) AGAIN: LeBron James walked into Miami like an alumni going back for a reunion, and the Heat showed him why those were better days. The Heat controlled the Cleveland Cavaliers from the opening tip. Dwyane Wade shot 1-of-10 in the second quarter, and still dropped 31 points with five assists and two steals. He set the tone for Miami and the Cavs' defense, which had looked better in a few contests lately, once again fell apart.

Cleveland's defense just can't survive if they're not absolutely bombing from deep. And the Heat gave Kevin Love a taste of the kind of physicality he can expect in the playoffs.

Miami missed 10 free throws, while the Heat generated 16 assists. In the end, shockingly, Danny Granger came in, scoring a season-high nine points, and delivered key buckets as the Heat ran away after the Cavs cut the lead to two.

Kyrie Irving injured his knee late, it's something to keep an eye on. Meanwhile, Luol Deng was great for Miami which gets an emotional win on Christmas after a disappointing loss to the Sixers. For Cleveland, it's more proof that they're not quite ready for playoff-level defense, even if they've been on a role as of late.

LeBron James drops 30-4-8 in the loss, and that was after having to leave the game with "leg tightness" in the third quarter. But not enough.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Dwyane Wade had a throwback game, even with the rough third quarter, and had this massive putback dunk in the first half to help build the Heat lead. Wham.

GAME OF THE NIGHT (DAY?) -- THUNDER 114 SPURS 106: Great game, even with Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard out. A back-and-forth affair that saw 10 lead changes, it was sloppy for much of it, but both teams found ways to get buckets. Oklahoma City's defense was hit or miss, but when it locked down, it changed the complexion of the game, particularly in the final few minutes.

San Antonio wasn't its usual self, and got caught making wild passes too often. They just weren't as crisp as they typically are, whether that was the Thunder defense or an egg nog hangover. But they kept finding shots, and Matt Bonner was huge (we'll get to that later). 17 big points, and the Spurs shot 52 percent from the field, but had 16 turnovers. In the end, the Thunder made the key plays down the stretch, and managed to get big buckets from Anthony Morrow. That was enough for the Thunder to pull away for a win they needed.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK STARS IN "NOT QUITE HUMAN": 34 points, five rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, a plus-27 and a win over the Spurs. Oh, and:

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE: Matt Bonner dunked. No, for real. We're having the moment immortalized in mural. Should have it done soon.

NO KOBE, MO PROBLEMS: The Lakers actually kept things respectable for the majority of the game against the increasingly impressive Bulls. You can't expect them to hang with Chicago for four quarters, though. With a fatigued Kobe Bryant sitting out, Ed Davis had a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double, but Jeremy Lin and Nick Young combined to shoot 3-for-14. Turns out what Los Angeles did against the Warriors is not sustainable. The Lakers shot 29 percent in the final frame and lost 113-93.

THE HEALTHY BULLS ARE SCARY: OK, they're not completely healthy -- Joakim Noah still doesn't quite look like himself -- but this group doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. Part of their offensive effectiveness tonight was the Lakers' awful defense, but there have been stretches in all of their recent wins where it's looked like they've gotten whatever they've wanted. Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol all scored 20-plus points, and it's just completely unfair that both Nikola Mirotic and Taj Gibson, maybe the two best reserve bigs in the league, come off Chicago's bench. Mirotic made ex-Bull Carlos Boozer look silly on numerous occasions.

HERE'S A GREAT FINISH: The replay of Derrick Rose's floater near the end of the first half is the most beautiful thing that happened in the NBA on Christmas. Perfection.

AND HERE'S A NOT-GREAT FINISH: Aww, Jordan Clarkson. At least this wasn't on national TV in primetime. Oh, wait. Damn.

JOHN WALL PUT ON A SHOW:Everybody who wanted to watch Washington Wizards' star John Wall shine on Christmas Day received a heck of a present from Wall. He finished with 24 points and 11 assists, but it felt like he did everything on the court to dominate the New York Knicks in the early game. He created 25 points just off his assists and 49 points created in total.

He had some pretty fun passes, like this perfectly executed pick-and-roll with Marcin Gortat, which ended in the Knicks looking completely lost, defensively.

He showed off a post game against Knicks' point guard Shane Larkin by hitting his opponent with a great spin move to the baseline. There are multiple angles of this and each one seems to get better.

SB Nation showed this acrobatic assist to Rasual Butler in the left corner that resulted in a made 3-pointer.

The highlight of the game for Wall was probably the 360 layup that left Jason Smith wondering where the Wizards' star had gone. The entirety of the play is great from splitting the pick-and-roll coverage to the reverse spin to get away from the contact.

Merry Christmas, little man!

THE KNICKS FINALLY PUT UP A FIGHT AT ONE POINT:The Knicks didn't get completely stomped in this game and kept it respectable throughout. But after they tied the game up 2-2, they never had control of any moment in the game. The Wizards just ran all over them and executed like it was a practice scrimmage.

Quincy Acy wasn't having any of it in the second half when he hit Wall with a flagrant-2 before being ejected. The kerfuffle that unfolded was the most fight the Knicks put up all game long and it came a little too late.

TIM HARDAWAY HAD THE NUMBERS ON THIS SHOT:This isn't the best shot selection by Tim Hardaway, Jr. but he did knock this down, so he gets three stars for his effort and execution.

#ShotSelection pic.twitter.com/1HqgIZIYhO
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) December 25, 2014

LET'S REMEMBER THERE WAS ONCE A CHILL-RAISING CHRISTMAS PROMO VIDEO::You should watch this every Christmas. Or every month. Or every day. It still gives basketball fans chills. Also, it's both chilling and dated with all of the moves that have happened since this was released. Monta Ellis on the Warriors and Andrew Bogut on the Milwaukee Bucks with Brandon Jennings!