60 points on Christmas: Bernard King's terrifyingly difficult record to beat

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One of the most memorable records in NBA history is the 100 points scored by legendary center Wilt Chamberlain in a single game. According to all analysts, journalists and even players, there is no player who can better this achievement achieved more than 40 years ago. Kobe Bryant came closest to this record with his 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.

Equally difficult to beat, however, is another record that doesn't get as much attention - most points scored in a single game on Christmas Day. That feat is currently held by New York Knicks legend Bernard King, who scored 60 points on Christmas Day in 1984.

Then on Christmas Day, there is only one game - the New York derby between the Knicks and the Nets. The Bucks are far from their prime this season, but King has been in incredible form, even winning the regular season scoring award, averaging 32.9 points per game. On Christmas Day, he was simply unstoppable, registering 60 points on 19-30 shooting, and added 22 points from the free throw line (out of 26 attempts).

Unfortunately for him, however, the Knicks lost the battle for New York after the strategy of only King scoring in the game was not successful. The Nets bet on team play and ended up winning 120-114. King himself is unfazed by his achievement: "Whether you score 15 points or 60 points, at the end of the day it's about who won the game. In this case, it wasn't us. At that moment I was not happy. There was no excitement. What I cared about was that we didn't win, we wanted to make the fans happy," King recalled of the memorable Christmas game.

Thanks to his 60 points that day, he passed Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 60 points in 1961 against the New York Knicks, on the all-time list. The record has proven to be very difficult to break, with Tracy McGrady's closest since then coming in 2002 when he scored 46 points against the Detroit Pistons - a full 14 points shy of Christmas' record.

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