Knicks Christmas superlatives: Did anyone set a mark yesterday?
Yesterday at 07:00 AM
Off a big win yesterday, let's look back at Knicks Christmas history.
Last night in the World's Most Famous Arena, Santa Claus left a memorable win under the tree for our Knicks, who improved to 20-10 in a thrilling, back-and-forth showdown with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, buoyed by the elite and hyper-efficient play of Mikal Bridges.
Yesterday was the most recent of a long line of Knicks' moments on Christmas. The first NBA Christmas game was played between the Knicks and the now-defunct Providence Steamrollers in the predecessor to the modern MSG back in 1947. Wednesday's matinee was the 57th in franchise history, the most in the NBA. It was the 33rd game in the modern MSG, also a record. Both the Knicks and Lakers stayed tied with the most Christmas wins with their 25th wins.
Such a storied history has its moments. Some franchises have new records set with every appearance (see: OAKAAK Julius Randle being the first player to post a 20-10-5 in Wolves history on Christmas yesterday). For the Knicks? It takes something really special. Let's go through the highs (and even some lows) of the 57 Christmas games in franchise history.
Most points (team): 136
(1961 vs. Philadelphia Warriors)
Surprisingly, the elite offense of the modern NBA hasn't infringed upon the top of these rankings. This was a thrilling 136-135 win in double overtime by a dreadful 9-24 Knicks team against a Wilt-led Warriors squad.
Wilt scored 59 on 44 shots (and 22 free throws). Richie Guerin scored 40 and Willie Nauls had 33. Johnny Green had 13 points and 24 rebounds. A couple months later, these two teams would meet up in Hershey, PA for a rather memorable moment in NBA history.
The most they've scored in regulation came in a blowout win over the New Jersey Nets in 1979, with 131.
Is this breakable? Absolutely. The modern NBA is prone to these outbursts and the Knicks dropped 129 on Christmas last year against the Bucks.
Least points (team): 64
(1948 vs. Chicago Stags)
Uh.
The average TS% in the NBA over the past few seasons has been 58%. Back in 1948? 33.7%. A league that didn't care about the shocking inefficiency of Joe Fulks saw a lot of this, especially before the shot clock was invented.
Good luck with box score data. Andy Phillip led all scorers with 18 for the Stags. Bud Palmer scored 16 for the Knicks.
This isn't breakable unless the shot clock is abolished.
Largest victory: 29
(1979 vs. New Jersey Nets)
This previously mentioned game was a 131-102 destruction. Both teams entered play below .500, but the Knicks got 58 combined by Bill Cartwright and Toby Knight, as well as a 14-10-6-6 game by Micheal Ray Richardson.
Breakable? Yes, in theory. However, the Knicks will never get a cookie on Christmas.
Largest defeat: 62
(1960 at Syracuse Nationals)
Damn.
A dreadful Knicks team went to upstate New York to visit the future 76ers and got absolutely walloped. Willie Nauls, Richie Guerin, and Jim Palmer all scored at least 19, but Syracuse had remarkably balanced scoring.
I cannot imagine the efficiency needed to score 162 in regulation.
This isn't breakable. This is by far the worst loss in franchise history.
Most points (player): 60, Bernard King
(1984 vs. New Jersey Nets)
King set a franchise record in points, only since broken by Melo and Brunson. It is the highest-scoring game in Christmas history and is one of the most iconic regular season performances in NBA history. 19-for-30 from the field. 22-for-26 from the line. Elite efficiency.
Mikal Bridges' 41 yesterday was the second-most and was even more efficient. Only the previously mentioned 1961 barnburner saw another 40-piece by Richie Guerin.
Breakable? Probably not. Only a Melo masterpiece against a hapless Bobcats squad and Brunson's unique outing against a rebuilding team have matched King since. I don't see a Knick breaking this for a while.
Most assists (player): 13, Dick McGuire
(1954 vs. Syracuse Nationals)
Just barely. Five Knicks have 12, including Kemba Walker, Mark Jackson, and Clyde Frazier.
McGuire had 13 dimes with eight rebounds and 16 points as the Knicks staved off the Nationals despite 30 by Dolph Schayes.
Or did he?
Basketball Reference says 12. Statmuse says 13. Hmm.
This is definitely breakable. Jalen Brunson had nine yesterday and has four career games (three in the past calendar year) with 13+ assists. He'll be playing on many more Christmases, that's for sure.
Most rebounds (player): 28, Willis Reed
(1968 vs. Philadelphia 76ers)
The OG cap averaged 14.5 rebounds a game that year, and his 25-28 performance is an all-timer. The Knicks, who would win a title the next year, edged out Philly to improve to 21-17. This roster was stacked. Cazzie Russell, Clyde Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Barnett, Bill Bradley, and the all-time leader in Christmas Day wins by a coach, Phil Jackson.
This isn't breakable. 28 rebounds is almost impossible in the modern NBA. That said, the record since 1970 was set by Enes Kanter in 2017, when he grabbed 22 boards against Embiid and the Sixers.
Most blocks (player): 6, Amar'e Stoudemire & Tyson Chandler
(2010 vs. Chicago Bulls, 2011 vs. Boston Celtics)
These two were teammates, did it in B2B years, and Chandler's was in his DPOY season. Mitchell Robinson tied for second in the Hawks game in 2021, by the way.
Amar'e's game was very good. 20 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, 10-for-18 FG against the Bulls.
This is breakable, but maybe not by this lot. Maybe Big Mitch can stick around for next year and have a throwback game?
Most steals (player): 5, Raymond Felton
(2010 vs. Chicago Bulls)
Surprisingly low. Felton had five swipes to go along with 20 and 12 to pull out a win against Carlos Boozer and the future MVP Derrick Rose.
Also, old school minutes distribution here. Thibs would love it.
Oh wait, he was coaching the Bulls that night.
Breakable? Yeah. OG got this next year. Lock it in.
Most 3PM (player): 6, Julius Randle & Mikal Bridges
(2021 vs. Atlanta Hakws, 2024 vs. San Antonio Spurs)
Randle's game was good revenge for a dreadful playoff series a few months prior. Bridges was his season-high and his defining moment as a Knick. I believe it was tied for the most threes hit in a Christmas game at MSG, per the ESPN broadcast when they were hyping up Wemby.
Breakable? Absolutely. Brunson, KAT, OG, and Bridges are all capable of hitting seven on any given night.
Most 3PM (team): 20
(2021 vs. Atlanta Hawks)
It's raining threes.
Hallelujah, it's raining threes.
No other Knicks team has hit 14+ on Christmas. This weird, 101-87 win against a Trae-less Hawks team was a barrage from three. Six from Randle, five from Grimes, three from Fournier, the other six were scattered around.
Breakable? Yeah. Knicks only hit 13 this year on ice cold shooting, but they can do this any given night.
Miscellaneous Stats
A few more things before we wrap this up.
Just one Christmas triple-double and it was by Kemba Walker. Very odd game and even odder when you remember he was benched before and after this, while also dropping 44 two days prior for a very frustrating Knicks team. Josh Hart is on watch for this next year.
Richie Guerin is the all-time leading scorer on Christmas for the Knicks with 193. Brunson has a long way to go, sitting 16th with 81.
The remaining leaderboards are sadly incomplete, as data is inconsistent back in the day.
The most common opponent? The 76ers. Thirteen times. 14 could come next year, but let's see how this year plays out.
Four Knicks have six Christmas wins (including the Zen Master, who has eleven as a coach). Speaking of coaches, Tom Thibodeau is chasing Phil Jackson with an all-time 7-4 record as a coach.
And lastly, one player can say their entire NBA career was on Christmas. Tyler Hall made his NBA debut on Christmas 2021, played two minutes, and never appeared again. What a tidbit.