On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Boston Celtics power forward Tommy Heinsohn scored 45 points in the Celtics’ 127-122 win over the (then) Syracuse Nationals (now, the Philadelphia 76ers) on the road on Christmas Day 1961.
It remains the record for points scored on any game played on Christmas by a Celtic player (point guards Kyrie Irving and Bob Cousy hold the next two highest scores on that day with 40 and 35 points, respectively). The yuletide offensive outburst was also the most points scored by the iconic power forward in any game of his storied career.
The Holy Cross alumnus went on to win his fifth title with the team later that season, but he played a game for the ages that holiday tilt first.
Heinsohn’s full stat line was 45 points scored on 19-of-36 shooting from the floor in an unrecorded amount of playing time while hitting 7 of his 9 free throw attempts.
Unfortunately for the Celtics history buffs among us, the Union City, New Jersey native’s other stats for the night have been lost to the sands of time, evidently unrecorded as was the custom for many counting stats in that era.
Today is the date of the Celtics’ first game on Christmas Day in 1948, an 80-77 loss to the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors, as well as their first win on Christmas Day six seasons later.
That came in 1954 against the (then) Milwaukee (now, Atlanta) Bucks, led by 35 points from Hall of Fame Boston point guard Bob Cousy.
It’s also the anniversary of Larry Bird getting 28 points, 20 boards and 8 assists against the New York Knicks in 1980, and the date the season started (in a loss to the Knicks) in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.
It is also the date of former Celtic center Jarvis Varnado‘s debut with Boston in 2012.
Out of Mississippi State University, Varnado was drafted by the Miami Heat in the 2010 NBA draft, but didn’t make the team. Instead, he played overseas and in the D League (as the G League was called then) until the Celtics signed him on Dec. 24 of the same year as his debut.
Sports Rabbi Fun Photo of the Day! Jarvis Varnado played in Israel this season for Hapoel Gilboa Galil and featured for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2011/12! @RealSwat32 was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2010 & played in the NBA with the Celtics, Bulls, Heat & 76ers! pic.twitter.com/Ecrsmr7pMF
— Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) June 11, 2020
Varnado played just seconds over a single minute of playing time in the 93-76 win over the Brooklyn Nets, recording a lone steal in that short span.
He played only four more games with Boston, averaging 1.2 points per game.
That 35-point outing by Bob Cousy mentioned above? It actually came in the Celtics very first win on Christmas Day.
The game was in 1954, and it was a road game vs. the (then) Milwaukee (now, Atlanta) Hawks.
Boston was a Christmas Day staple from 1948 to 1960, but things went poorly for the Celtics over most of that stretch, losing 4-8 and their first six Dec. 25 games in a row.
Interestingly, none of them were home games, and Boston didn’t play one until a 118-108 win over the New York Knicks because Red Auerbach didn’t want team staff to have to work on the holiday.
Champion Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has done well on Christmas, leading Boston to an 86-77 win over the Orlando Magic in 2009 in which the Kentucky alum put up 17 points, as many boards, and 8 assists.
Rondo also helped Boston beat the Brooklyn Nets 97-76 with a 19-point, 6-board, 5 assist outing.
A win over the Knicks on Christmas Day in 1967 was historically offensive.
As in, it was the game in which Boston put up the most points ever as a team in that 134-124 victory, with Sam Jones leading the team with 27 points.
The worst loss played on the holiday came in 2002, when the then New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in a 117-81 blowout.
Finally, it is the day that we lost Hall of Fame Celtics legend KC Jones, who left us on this day in 2020.
A legend as a player and a coach, Jones won two NCAA titles with the USF Dons (1955, 1956), Olympic gold in 1956, eight NBA titles as a player with Boston (1959-1966) and two more as a head coach (1984, 1986) with the Celtics along with countless other accolades.
Rest in peace, KC. You are missed.
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