Jeff Turner can laugh about it now, 25 years later. As an NBA rookie in 1984, he was thrilled to be playing on Christmas Day in Madison Square Garden, the biggest stage of his life, primed to be starting now at small forward for the New Jersey Nets.Two minutes after tip-off, though, he knew this would not end well for him.
Bernard King of the New York Knicks was on a mission, about to set the league on fire. And Turner would serve as the footnote, the guy trying to guard him.
"I still call it the 'Christmas Day massacre,' '' joked Turner last week. "I think I fouled out before I could break a sweat.''
It was King who made history that day and carved his name into NBA Christmas lore, torching Turner and the Nets for 60 points, most ever in the storied sports cathedral, and still the most points ever scored on the league's annual celebration of basketball.
Turned played 10 seasons in the NBA as a serviceable role player, getting his turn against future Hall of Fame forwards like Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Adrian Dantley and Karl Malone, but no one ever impressed him more than King on that memorable Christmas Day.
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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/12/24/bernard-king-still-has-christmas-crown/
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