It was obvious to Michael Gbinije that Rakeem Christmas wasn’t happy after Saturday’s loss.

The Syracuse big man had disappeared against Jahlil Okafor, Duke’s phenom and the potential national player of the year, and stumbled to his worst performance of the season.

But Christmas insists that the debate of his stature among the country’s most prolific big men isn’t what drove him to respond the way he did Wednesday night.

“I don’t really care about all that. I just try to help my team win,” Christmas said. “I knew I had to put that game behind me and that’s what I tried to do.

“And that’s what I did.”

It was Christmas’ team again. The script throughout the Orange’s nonconference schedule and its early Atlantic Coast Conference slate was reenacted in the form of his most efficient game yet. After two subpar outings — the latter of which on a national stage — he outshined Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell with 29 points as Syracuse (17-9, 8-5 ACC) finally got the best of a ranked team, the victim being the No. 12 Cardinals (20-6, 8-5), 69-59, in front of an overjoyed audience of 26,160 in the Carrier Dome.

And on the other end, he anchored an SU defense that cut down the Cardinals’ shooting percentage by nearly 20 percent after halftime, which helped transform the Orange’s possibility of an upset into reality.

“He finished everything down there,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He was spectacular in the low post… Tonight was his best, I thought, this year.”

After a 4-for-4 start from the floor and his beginning to an exemplary night at the free-throw line, Christmas had 11 points by halftime.

Harrell — his counterpart, an imposing big man who came in averaging 15.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game — had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half. Even without suspended point guard Chris Jones, the Cardinals had shot 53.8 percent from the floor and their big man was off to a better start than Okafor was on Saturday. And he finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Christmas shot just 5-for-17.

“He shrugged it off. He knew we had more games,” Gbinije said of Saturday’s loss to Duke. “His whole season’s not based off of that game.”

With 13 minutes left, Christmas took back the control that we haven’t seen him command in a week and a half.

The patented baby hook brought Syracuse within one. Two free throws put SU ahead. The next two baskets were pure athleticism.

From the corner, he took on Chinanu Onuaku into the lane, absorbed contact as he floated in the air and drained the shot and the ensuing foul shot, without much reaction.

And 30 seconds later, he was gliding toward the rim on the break and softly slamming in two more points to stir the crowd — but not with the usual arm raise he’s used to celebrate his dunks.

When his run was over, Christmas had accounted for 14 of Syracuse’s 18 points and replaced a three-point deficit with a 58-52 lead with 5:07 left.

“He was back to being Rak tonight,” Cooney said. “Just to get out there and be himself and finish the shots that he can, I thought he was unbelievable. Offensively and defensively, he changed the game.”

And when Christmas pulled down a rebound with SU up by eight in the final 40 seconds and began walking toward the foul line, the standing ovation that developed felt intended for him just as much as it applauded the signature win he was nailing down.

Instead of salvaging his numbers with meaningless dunks and making the disappointing walk through the tunnel like he did Saturday, Christmas was energizing a rowdy Carrier Dome crowd with his arms and nodding his head as the final seconds ticked away. Instead of submerging into a cushioned chair in the SU locker room and muttering his answers to reporters quieter than usual, Christmas stood — and even incited laughter.

Yet despite Christmas’ career night, the consensus of postgame chatter was that defense was in fact the reason for the Orange’s defining victory. Boeheim said defense was the difference. Cooney said the game was more about defense than offense.

Christmas wasn’t dominating the discussion — and that’s just fine with him.

Phil D’Abbraccio is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at pmdabbra@syr.edu or on Twitter at @PhilDAbb.

Published on February 19, 2015 at 12:08 am