The Best of Christmas
Ray Marcano takes us through the five most memorable Christmas Day games in Knicks history.
Good morning, and to everyone who celebrates, Merry Christmas! Programming note: there will be NO NEWSLETTER on Monday, but the rest of next week will be on a regular schedule. Also, last chance to take advantage of this year’s holiday special…
…or if you prefer to give the gift of KFS to the Knicks fan in your life, you may do so here:
🏙 Game Night 🏙
Who: Bulls tonight, Sixers on Christmas
Where: MSG
When: 7:30 pm tonight, Noon on Sunday
Injury Report: Quentin Grimes is questionable for the Knicks. For the Bulls, Alex Caruso is questionable and Lonzo Ball remains out. For Philly, Tyrese Maxey remains out.
TV: MSG tonight, ABC on Sunday
Halftime Zoom: No halftime zoom tonight or Sunday, but I’ll be back at it on Tuesday night!
The Best of Christmas
by Ray Marcano
Merry Christmas, everyone! It’s a marvelous day to be with family and friends who will later gather around to open presents, sing carols, and watch the Knicks beat the Sixers. I asked Santa, on behalf of all Knicks fans, for a win. Let’s deliver, big man!
Christmas Day games date back to 1947, and the Knicks have played an important role in that history.
The Knicks have played 54 Christmas Day games, more than any team, and have a 23-31 record. Several internet sites say the Knicks sit second all-time with 23 Christmas Day wins, but that’s the same number as the Lakers, so New York should be …. Tied? Everyone does agree on one fact --- the Knicks have more losses (31) than anyone else.
Former Knick for a season Tracy McGrady, who appeared in 24 games during the 2009-10 campaign, has the highest Christmas Day scoring average at 43.3 PPG.
The Knicks have been involved in three of the top five individual scoring performances on Christmas Day. King, of course, is No. 1. Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 against the Knicks in 1961, and Jerry West 47 against the New Yorkers in 1963.
Two of the top five rebounding performances were also against the Knicks. Chamberlain grabbed 36 rebounds in that 1961 game, the highest rebound total ever on Christmas Day. Bill Russell pulled down 33 boards against the Knicks in 1958.
Kemba Walker is the only Knicks player to score a triple-double on Christmas Day. Thibs banished poor Kemba to the bench between November 30 and December 16, giving rise to a new verb, Walkered, as in, “Thibs just Walkerd Rose to the bench.” Walker regained his spot due to illness and injury. He responded with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in the 101-87 win over the Hawks on December 25, 2021. In February, Walker announced, with support, that he wouldn’t play the rest of the season.
So, what about the games? Here’s a subjective look at the top Christmas Day games in Knicks’ history.
5. DECEMBER 25, 1947 - THE KNICKS BEAT THE PROVIDENCE STEAMROLLERS
Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember this game. I wasn’t even born yet, either. But this was one of the most important contests in NBA history. The Knicks won 89-75, as Tommy Burns scored 20 points and Carl Braun added 19. (Braun also pitched for the Yankees before a sore arm ended his pitching career). Kenny Sailors --- widely credited with inventing the jump shot --- led the Steamrollers with 19 points. The Knicks and Steamrollers played the first Christmas Day game in NBA history and began what would become an annual tradition.
4. DECEMBER 25, 1961 - THE KNICKS BEAT THE SIXERS
I was so tempted to make this No. 1 because of individual dominance I don’t think we’ll ever see again. Chamberlain was on his way to the greatest statical season in NBA history, during which he would average 50.4 points and 35.7 rebounds per contest. The NBA played 80 games that season, and Wilt averaged 48.5 minutes a game (overtime counts), so I guess “load management” and “off days” wasn’t a thing back then.
Let’s put that in perspective. During the 2021-22 season, only three players --- Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and James Harden --- averaged more than 37 minutes per game, and none played more than 68 games. Mikal Bridges was the only player in the top 20 in minutes who played all 82 games (and 34.8 minutes per game) and that qualifies as Iron Man today.
The Knicks won the 1961 games in a two-overtime thriller. Chamberlain scored 59 points and hauled in 36 rebounds while playing 58 minutes. I’m not sure Nets players, with load management, rest, or treating an injured pinky toe, play that much over three games. (Too snarky? Not when you rest eight players in one game, dude. I bet Thibs would rather tape his mouth shut than do that.) Richie Guerin scored 40 points and Willie Naulls 33 to lead the Knicks to a 136-135 win, but this was all about Wilt and the greatest game in his greatest season.
3. DECEMBER 25, 1986 - THE KNICKS BEAT THE CHICAGO BULLS
This 1986 nationally televised game came down to the last shot. The contest featured Ewing in his second season and Michael Jordan in his third. The Bulls had more talent, as John Paxson and future Knick Charles Oakley joined Jordan in the starting five. The Knicks were typically Knicksy, entering the game 6-21. Future Bull Bill Cartwright started next to Ewing (can you imagine that lineup today?), but the Knicks also trotted out Kenny Walker as a starter (big sigh). The Knicks started fast, jumping to a 10-point lead in the first quarter. But Chicago slowly chipped away. With six seconds left, Jordan missed an off-balance jumper, but Dave Corzine grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Cartwright as the ball went through the hoop. Corzine hit the free throw and the three-point play gave Chicago a 85-84 lead. The Knicks called time and inbounded the ball to Trent Tucker, who hoisted a long, ugly two-point shot that didn’t draw iron. That’s when we saw a glimpse of greatness. Ewing grabbed the ball as it bounced off the backboard and shot it before he landed on his feet as if he defied gravity. The ball went through the basket and the Knicks won, something they didn’t do much that season (they finished 24-58). A last-second, 86-85 win had to make the list. You can see the last nine minutes of the game here.
2. DECEMBER 25, 1985 - THE KNICKS BEAT THE CELTICS IN 2 OT’s
The Knicks had no business, and I mean none, hanging with the Celtics. Boston’s stacked team included the original big three of Bird, Parish, and McHale, along with Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge, and Bill Walton. The Knicks had the rookie Patrick Ewing and … not much else. Names like Bob Thornton, Chris McNealy and Ken Green populated the roster. Boston was on its way to giving the Knicks an ass-kicking and led by 25 points with just over five minutes gone in the third quarter. They cut the lead to 10 after three and then rode, as Clyde would say, their “precocious neophyte” to eventual victory. If the fourth, Ewing scored 12 points in a row and 18 in the quarter. He showed his leadership traits when he told teammate Rory Sparrow he wanted the ball. “I told Rory my shots were falling, and I felt good,” according to a story in the Los Angeles Times. Ewing finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block in the 113-104 win. This was the Knicks’ biggest win during a miserable 23-59 season. More importantly, fans saw the emergence of a franchise player.
1. DECEMBER 25, 1984 - KING SCORES 60
Like many other Knicks fans, I didn’t get to see the single greatest scoring explosion in NBA history. Until recently.
The Knicks played the Christmas game at night and it broadcast on MSG network. I moved to Dayton, Ohio, in August 1984 to work at the Dayton Daily News. In the prehistoric information days before the internet, I had no idea what King accomplished --- until I read the newspaper the next morning.
In the Dayton newspaper, the Knicks lost and King’s 60 didn’t merit much attention. The December 26 New York Times went to press early so the national edition we got in Ohio didn’t have anything about the game. I had to get on Sports Phone (remember that?) to listen to the scores and highlights of the contest. Even then all I heard was a dry resuscitation of the stats.
Then, some years ago, I stumbled on the full game on Youtube. You can also watch all 60 of his points here.
King didn’t score until more than 3 minutes had gone by in the first, a short turnaround on the baseline against overmatched rookie Jeff Turner. From there, King exploded. He scored 40 at the half, and 49 after three.
The greatest pure scorer I’ve ever seen in a Knicks uniform made it look too easy. He scored 22 of his 60 points from the foul line because he dominated inside. If you watch the game you’ll notice most of his points come in the paint or no more than 10 feet out. The Nets tried using a host of players to guard him but nothing worked. He went inside, spun, jumped, and shimmied his way to the hoop with ease.
The Knicks lost 120-114 but I’d be surprised if anyone cared. These were the dark times of the 1980s and New York would finish 24-58. But they had King, a magician with the basketball who could score at will.
So before the Knicks host the Sixers at Noon today, watch the King work his magic. Then, watch the Knicks work theirs.
Long-time journalist Ray Marcano freelances for some of the country’s most prominent brands and writes the Sunday opinion column for the Dayton Daily News. He’s the former National President of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror, a Fulbright Fellow, and a die-hard Knicks fan.
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That’s it for today! If you enjoy this newsletter and like the Mets, don’t forget to subscribe to JB’s Metropolitan, or his hockey newsletter, Isles Fix. See y’all soon! #BlackLivesMatter
Nice one Jon. Have a great Knicksmas. I was at that game when King got 60. Being Jewish and in the city up from where i grew up in Tennessee to visit the grandparents in Coney Island, I guess dad thought it would be a good idea to go scalp some tickets. I think he paid maybe $15 a ticket. King was amazing, not a ton of people in the crowd. Remember getting Pizza Suprema across the street too and then 10 years later I'd get my apartment in Chelsea by paying off some guy so i could sign a lease on a rent stabilized apartment on 25th street just a short walk to the Garden. Nice memories. Still wish we'd won the game. King had gone to University of Tennessee where my dad was a professor and we used to drive our old beat up car to a small university gym to watch him and Ernie play college ball. The crowds were wild and it was great fun. Also really disappointing they lost in the NCAA tournament to an underdog. I've never had a winner in basketball. Not sure I ever will.
Ha! As a parent of two, both now teens and one having recently been an unwitting cause of some of those darkest moments, I can only agree w you while pointing out the wonders of cognitive dissonance reduction! Beautiful kids, Jon. Happy holidays, KFS friends.
Re the game - not the lowest of lows for me at all. A good game with many correctable errors (and many that must be borne), RJ showing up and turning it on a little earlier than last year, and even at the end I was asking “how will we win this one” instead of looking at a lead and wondering how we’ll lose. Not bad at all. Still on track for 47 wins :)