December 20, 2021 • 41 mins
Hosted by Sarah Kustok, NBA Flashback is the podcast that takes you back to the best moments in NBA history through exclusive archival audio from the NBA vault, along with new interviews from the players and coaches who were in the building. On the premiere episode of NBA Flashback we go back to 1984 and talk to then Knicks Head Coach Hubie Brown and player Ernie Grunfeld about Bernard King scoring 60 points on Christmas vs. the Nets in Madison Square Garden. Hubie and Ernie take us though a game where Bernard King was truly unstoppable. We also talk about the importance of the Knicks scoring record to Bernard which stood until Carmelo Anthony scored 62 in 2014. And we even discuss how Bernard would fare in today's NBA.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
NBA Flashback is a production of I Heart Radio in
the NBA. Happy Holidays and welcome to another exciting night
of NBA basketball. Watching NBA, you know, on Christmas Day
as a kid, was what I look forward to every
year and just a different feeling of excitement about spending
(00:23):
time with family and watching the greatest teams of that
year play. Just fly up to the rim hole ho
hole man. There's nothing better than playing the Christmas Day
that you know, all the families out on the world
watching that game with their families. So it's a fun
experience and it's a it's a president. You can give
it to the fans. Christmas gets away from a long
(00:48):
zo trigger legendary rivalries, epic rematches, and the best teams
in the league meet each year on Christmas Day. For
basketball fans, the NBA is a huge part of the
holiday fest activities, serving as a backdrop whether you're opening
gifts or sharing a meal with family. Christmas Day, you know,
d Way doing off the glass, the brand kissing you,
(01:08):
Duncan kissing to lift hand, Duncan, You're ducing day wrap back,
plat it out of your Christmas tree. Christmas Day games
are an opportunity to change the course of the season
and bust open expectations. You know how hard it is
for NBA teams to get that platform to play, and
(01:31):
you know so many grades have played on Christmas as well,
so it's a huge honor and it chuck off just
like Santa Claus does, he goes up the chimney. And
as we get close to Christmas, there is no better
time to start a new NBA podcast. I'm sarahcu Stack
(01:53):
and be a analyst for the Yes Network, a broadcaster
for Fox Sports, and as a basketball junkie. I am
ex sited to be the host of this new podcast
called NBA Flashback. The show takes you back to the
greatest moments in NBA history, using archival audio from the
NBA as well as new interviews with the players and
(02:13):
coaches who were in the building. We will dive deep
into some of the most legendary games and performances of
all time and talk with the best minds in the game.
In our first episode, we flash back to a very
special Christmas Day game in nineteen four the Nets first
the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, a night where Bernard
(02:35):
King put on a spectacular show, scoring a then Knicks
record sixty points. Verry Christmas, everyone, and welcome to Madison
Square Garden, wearing the night the New York Knicks the
New Jersey Nets. That's Sam Rosen from MSG Network. Hello, everyone,
a very Christmas and a happy holiday season. All had
(02:56):
a wonderful Christmas Day. It's Christmas Night basket ball, something
that started back at Madison Square Garden in and this
is the thirty second Christmas Night basketball game to be
played at the Garden. It's the Knicks and the Nets,
and this is the fifth time of the last six
years that these two teams have gotten together on Christmas
Night or Christmas Day. As we get you ready for
(03:18):
the game, we begin with then Nick's head coach Hubie Brown.
Hubie is a two time and be A Coach of
the Year, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame,
and one of the greatest NBA analysts ever. In his
pregame interview from the Locker Room, he gives an honest
assessment of his team heading into the Christmas game against
(03:38):
the Nets. Here's Hubie. Their problems are different than our problems.
They have a low post power again with Kaminski and
Buck Williams. Consequently, their guards are open on kickbacks when
they get double teamed. You do not have that luxury
(04:02):
if you double team us outside of Bernard King. Uh,
you're very foolish. Now, let's bring in Hube along with
then Nick's player, legendary NBA executive and close friend of
Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, to give us some perspective on
this game where we saw pique Bernard King just a
(04:23):
few months before a devastating knee injury to change the
course of his career in NBA history. Hub Ernie, first
of all, thank you so much for joining me here
and to relive such a special moment. We know how
much Christmas Day games mean and what an honor it
(04:45):
is to be able to play on that day. Um,
So take me back, Hub, you first describe what it
was like December Nick's nets at the garden. What do
you remember that morning about getting prepared for that game. Well,
first of all, you were the only game of the day,
(05:06):
and the Knicks for five straight years that I was there,
played on Christmas Day and it was the only game.
So naturally, when you put in the fact that it
was New York and New Jersey, both teams had an
awful lot of talent with great success in eighty three
and eighty four. Before the five season, now they had
(05:27):
injuries and then we lost two of our best front
court players and Truck Robinson and Marvin Webster who retired
over the summer because of medical problems. And then in
that game, Billy Cartwright, our starting center, was out with
a stress fracture one of four operations. But the rivalry
(05:48):
was great. Uh, they were loaded. They had a terrific
backcourt and Michael Ray Richardson and Otis person and then
up front they had Albert King, Jaminsky and Buck Williams.
So we knew that is going to be a great game.
And I think Arny from a player's standpoint, could give
you another look. Well, from my standpoint, there was a
regular game. We did the same things to always do.
(06:10):
We come in and you prepare and you have your routine.
And we were actually good friends with all those guys
from the Nets because we practiced in New Jersey at
Upstillar College at that time and we used to work
out with the nets during the summer all the time.
So it was just a regular kind of game for us.
Although you were on the big stage because you're getting ready. Actually,
I think I was hurt that game, and I was
(06:31):
just sitting on the bench trying to keep stats for
Hugh Be like I do sometimes. Ernie. I'm interested in
you saying that though, because as a player, I think
all players have a different perspective going into games and
um treating approaching at the same. Bernard King, though he
is known for his pregame intensity, how he gets locked in,
was there anything different from your perspective? Do you recall
(06:53):
in watching him as he got set for that one?
I don't think there's anything different. You know, burnout is
really unique. First of all, I played with him three
years in college. Even though I'm from New York, I'm
from Queens, he's from Brooklyn. We never really played against
each other in high school. I'm a year older than him.
But at college we played together for three years, and
then you come to the Knicks and we played together
(07:15):
for four years there. Also, he had the unique ability,
which I haven't never seen any other player to really
just turn it on. It's like a light, it switches
on and off. Slip yet in the garden, and he
just motivates himself. His locker was right next to mine,
(07:36):
and sometimes he just sits there trying to motivate himself,
and he'd worked himself into a sweat, and I don't
know how he did that. I remember one time we
were in then this is when Hugh he first became
the coach, and he would be, you know, he had
a lot of stuff up there on the board of
all the keys to the game and everything else, and
Bernard would be looking down trying to get ready, you know,
(07:58):
trying to do whatever he does. And he he says,
be watchman, pick your head up. Watch this. So he
picked his head up for about three seconds and put
his head back down to he says, be, watch what
we're doing. Watch what we're doing. So he watched it,
and he put his head back down again. After a
while he be just said that he's gonna score forty anyway.
Let him do it anyway he wants. Every player is different.
(08:22):
So you're dealing with a cerebral player who was one
of the greatest athletes before the accident to the a
c L and the bone in the leg before that,
running on the fails break in the left lane. The
only guy that could compare it to him in the eighties,
(08:42):
was James Worthy of the Lakers. They could fly on
the break, then they could execute in the secondary break
if the break didn't score, and then if they set
into their sets, whatever you ran for Bernard, He's efficiency
at the college level of overaging point shooting over then
(09:07):
he comes into the pros and here he is with
us and he's scoring all of these points. He's leading
the leg and scoring at this time of this game,
Bernard pulls the trigger the efficiency, the high shooting percentage,
and then the high foul shooting. He could get his
shot off of any double team, and the quickness with
(09:30):
the spin moves right or left leg. And it wasn't
just his quickness, it was also his explosiveness and his toughness.
It was extremely physical and he did a lot of
his work before he ever got the ball. He made
sure he got really good position when he was down
on that low post. But as Hugh be mentioned, running
the floor, especially on that left lane, he had the
(09:51):
unique ability not only to go straight but to go laterally,
so if the defense was set up against him, he
could let the defense is still go to the basket
with authority. He had so much explosiveness that he can
go finish with a dunk off the break, going a
hundred miles an hour, and he's just a fierce competitor.
(10:13):
He's a fierce competitor who has great skills and a
very very high basketball r Q. As Huby said, well,
I want to ask you both about that, because in
watching this game, it was just sensational seeing what he
was able to do and especially how he got cooking
so early. Bernard King on ties of these fouls, Jim
Carvellis and Butch Beard on the call for MSG, I
(10:36):
wouldn't do that to my worst sentiment, Well, you just
told his birds song saying something to Jeff Turner, and
Turner says, what am I supposed to do? Don't create contact.
You can't stand behind him, Jeff, and you can't three
quarter him, and you can't front him. You just what
else does he do? Well, you just make him work
as hard as you possibly can and let him get
(10:58):
his points and hope to make him work down in
the offense. On the defensive end, when New Jersey hadna
take jump shots from the outside and Butch Beard was
on the call, he was like, I don't know how
you guard him. You can't stay behind him. You can't
front him, you can't three quarters deny him. I don't
know what you do. How did players, teams? How did
you feel like they tried to And clearly that night
(11:20):
the nets were not capable of it. But how did
you feel like teams tried to slow him down? First
of all, you've got to give the team and the
chemistry to run the plays that opened up the players
in their high percentage areas. When you talk about half
court offense now in the open floor, Ernie said it perfectly,
(11:44):
the explosion. I remember six seven. Now, we had all
kinds of sets. Once we came on the break, it
wasn't there the secondary break. Naturally, he would be the
number one option of what we were doing that game,
of how we were trying to score in the secondary phase.
But during the regular season we had a number of
(12:06):
sets for him and for Cartwright, Truck, Robinson, you know,
basically are our frontline guys. So they had all different
things that they knew that we would run, and we
were also taking numbers grading that on each possession. On
the bench. We had people doing that, so we knew
(12:26):
which plays were good, which plays we're not working. As
we were moving through the quarters. Then also if you
surprised us with how you were going to double team
or double team and if he split, how you were
going to rotate to him, that would open up different
areas of the floor. The physical nous you could beat
(12:48):
on him, you can double team him, He's still going
to split and get to his spots. Ernie, how much
is because you brought that up to the physical play.
I mean in this game, just in the first quarter
of Loan, not only does Bernard have twenty points, but
Jeff Turner, Kevin McKenna, Michael Ray Richardson, they all were
trying to slow him down. They're all in foul trouble.
(13:09):
He said, I don't think right now the way New
Jersey is hurting that they have anybody to guard ring
our game. When our King got into Sparreau got King
and a file, a tripping file in New Jersey. Who
they gonna get this on? Ramsey? Ramsey foul Bernard King
before Michael Ray richards and most people consider twenty points
a game a terrific offensive night. Bernard's done it in
(13:32):
ten minutes and forty eight seconds. Was that a part
of the strategy of how you think Bernard approached the
offensive side or was that just in the flow of
how he played, No, it was everything he did was planned.
We lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and we were
like a mile away from each other, so we worked
out every day together before we went to scrimmage with
(13:54):
some other guys. But he thought out everything he did.
If you gave him the ball on the low post
that the double team came from the top, he would
go baseline. If it came from the side, he would
go this other way. He had a counter for every
move that the defense was going to give him, and
it was planned and he practiced it diligently every single day.
(14:16):
Bernard explained his approach to scoring, and so there's only
five ways you can depend me. That's it. I created
an offensive move for every way you can defend me.
That's it. And if I did that, then I'm always
going to be a force offensive one because you have
(14:36):
to give me one. Once I you've given me that move,
then I have spots that I'm going to go to
and I will not shoot anywhere else. You've given me
what I wanted. Now I'm gonna go to my spots,
and as Hugh Bey says, nobody practiced harder than him ever,
and he just did that on a daily basis. He
(14:57):
just had that ability and that's what made him a
great player. Plus his high basketball like you you can
just read it. He had a great feel for for
the game and where everything was coming from. And then
of course the ferocity. He hated to lose. And uh,
he was an outstanding teammate for a guy that averaged
so many points, you know, he was an outstanding teammate.
I remember Bernard had missed a couple of weeks with
(15:20):
with he heard his finger or jammed his finger and
he didn't play, and some of our other veteran players
were playing really well, and we want a couple of games,
and then Bernard comes back and the production from those
players went down. And as Hub, you know, he keeps
track of everything. Believe I've told Hube this before, but
Hube had analytics in the eighties, but he didn't have
(15:43):
a computer to run all the numbers, so he did
everything on the net. But as he said, he kept
track of every single thing, every fast break and what
the conversion rate was, offensive rebounding and what the conversion
rate was. So some of players when Bernard came back,
their production dropped a little bit, and we had a
(16:04):
team meeting and you'll be put everything up on the
board saying, you know, ten for ten games straight, you
guys did this. Now in the last six games, you're
doing this, and you know everybody's listening. And one of
the veteran players says, well, Hub, we're not getting the
ball because you're calling place for Bernard every time. And
Burnout is a very respectful. He doesn't say much really
(16:25):
in the locker rooms, but he leaves by example for sure.
And then Bernard spoke up and he said, you be
this game, don't call my number once except the last
two minutes. I want the ball every time. And then
he says, well, you have to get the ball because
you know, shooting fifty seven percent. But anyway, they agreed
to it, and he'll be said, Okay, we're not gonna
(16:45):
call your numbers in the last two minutes Bernard had
forty two. Anyway, Okay, you remember that, you be Oh yeah, look,
I'm sitting here earlier, and I'm thinking of game five
the year before, in the first round at Detroit. It
was the best of five, and in that series he's
playing with a splint on his middle finger. Okay, and
(17:10):
where we we got to be careful where we hit
him because of how many times he could dribble and
have the pain mangers maybe bothering, you know, there's no
question about it. He keeps rubbing them trying probably to
get some filling back into them. And in that series
he only scored over forty in four of the five games,
and then one game he at thirty six. And in
(17:32):
the big game that morning in the walkthrough, if you remember,
it was a hundred degrees in that arena because it
didn't have air conditioning and it was a Sunday afternoon
on national television. Lewis A's right, and what's his name?
The doctor was then that, you know, shooting him up,
get him some energy and that because he didn't even
(17:54):
do the walkthrough, and all he did with that game
was scored forty four. That's all. That's all he did, Yes,
forty four points. Can't you hit that with two defensive
players on him? Hell, that's it. You are shots over time?
What three to take? The shows at five for fish
(18:23):
post Suffers. We were with him and we just loved
the competitiveness. There was never an excuse because he played
both ends of the floor. He boarded, he ran his
hearty good on the break, and then he was a
great team player to play with. Unbelievable. I love that.
And you could see Ernie just even in your in
(18:44):
your story about just Bernard and how he got things
within the flow of the offense, even maybe if plays
weren't called for him, since weren't called for him. But
I'm curious the first half of this one, Hub, it
looked like he was getting the ball in the low post,
in the low block at so many possessions, and he
was just going to work. And New Jersey continues to
stay close in the game even though Bernard King is
(19:05):
eating them alive. It's been a one man offensive show
about the New York Knicks, Bernard King against the New
Jersey next unbelievable, alight times we use that word to
describe game. He's definitely on the road that's on. The
Knicks formed the triangle and Sparrow got it down inside it.
(19:26):
For as much as we talked, we talked today's game
at the NBA about guys getting to their spots, and Hub,
I know that's a big thing for you. Did Bernard
have certain spots on the floor, and from the looks
of it, it felt like every spot on the floor
was a spot. But how much of the post up
game or the strategy um in the half court offense
was about understanding where Bernard's spots were. With the great
(19:50):
scores that you have, you always thought to them before
the season even starts about where the best plays for
ever run for them at the high school or college level,
or with a team that we just got the player
from that plays that they liked, and in those conversations
they would tell you where their areas are. He liked
(20:12):
to talk about he had nine different areas, so it
didn't matter what you ran, right side, left side, so forth.
Because in the league most players can score and two
out of three areas. Now, with him, it didn't matter
which side of the three areas that you're running. That's
(20:33):
what made him so great. Now you have to realize
that at the end of the season, with a month ago,
he's leading the leading and scoring at thirty two point nine,
and second and third are Larry Bird and Michael Jordan's
and Purvis Short all right tied at up until that
(20:57):
March accident. Just think about how great he was playing
that there was a difference of four four points in
the scoring. You don't see that today. Well, he was
a well rounded player. He could do everything. You know.
I think that he liked the left box a little
bit more than anywhere else on the court because he
(21:18):
had a beautiful shot, a jump hook going into the middle,
and if you took that away from him, he would
spend god baseline for a little fade away twelve footer
that was unstoppable and the efficiency was off the charts.
Coming up, we looked back at one of the most
dominant first halfs in Nick's history. Forty points. Forty for
(21:42):
Bernard King in the first half, and then think about
doing that. I didn't know I did that until I
was leaving the floor. Here you're going to see Bernard
team do it all. First of all, he going to
grab the rebound right here. Now the nice little watch
(22:03):
passed to James Bailey who was running the floor. Well,
he is out of control right there. He puts it
up hard. There you see Bernard Keen snaking in, tipping
it in. Bernard Keene coast to coast. Forty for Bernard
King in the first half. Yeah, so you mentioned the efficiency.
(22:24):
So halftime of this game, Bernard has forty points, thirteen
of sixteen from the field, fourteen of seventeen from the
free throw line. Just incredible efficiency to go along with
those big time numbers. What was the conversation like in
the locker room and and I'm curious from your perspective,
h but you guys were um you were up by
(22:45):
ten at that point at the end of the half.
But for Bernard to have forty points to go along
with it, what was said and what do you remember
about it? Naturally we were ahead, we were up ten,
But what happened was in the second half. Yeah, for
the game, we missed twelve foul shots. We were still
up four at the end of three. But Michael Ray
(23:05):
Richardson had a great second half and I do believe
in the game he had like thirty five. But he
he heard this and so did Mike Jaminski. At the
center position. Bransy got a step then gave it up
to Michael Ray. Two point shot, point shot. It was
(23:26):
not alive. But now that this way is only two
and Michael Ray bringing up back. Now, now, if we
had Cartwright, it would have been a different story. But
Cartwright was out, you know, for a long period of
time with the first of four fractures in his foot.
So Jaminski was able to also take advantage of our
(23:47):
centers that we had at the time. We had a
lot of inexperienced there. Jaminski, what a game he's played.
We talked about Michael Ray, he's played a good Dame.
Jam has been terrific. Twenty five points and well rebounds
and the NIXT leader is only one, but that will
always be prepared for the other teams of how else
(24:08):
are they gonna try? Yeah, sure, they tried those three
younger guys at the beginning, but then they came with
George Johnson. They came with a six ten guy later,
and they came with more saw. I'll tell you what
George Johnson is really making him think, isn't a well,
he's making him alter that shot, especially when he's posting
down low because of his long arms and timing. And
(24:29):
here you see Buck Williams coming into the game for
Jeff Turner, right bucket, And they're gonna keep us keep
George Johnson up and are though why not? He's the
only guy that's had any success on him at all.
And then they changed their rotations on their traps and that, well,
then you had to be prepared for that. You can't
have a great score and not have answers to how
(24:54):
the opposition is going to come at you that you
might not have been prepared for, say it was something new,
Well at halftime or at time out, you have got
to be able to adjust, and your team has got
to know that what you are giving them we have
done before and we've seen every type of defense that
(25:14):
you could have un Bernard, because you got to remember
now the year before in eighty four he scores fifty
twice down in San Antonio and in Dallas, but I'm
looking for fifty and he's got a back to back
fifty point k K. And then in the playoffs he
got over forty those four times against the Trade and
(25:36):
in the second round they said he had never got
forty against the Celtics. Well, he left us to a
game seven. So you have to be able to answer
to your team in that type of situation and hope
that we can continue on what we were doing. But
the thing which was hurting us along because we were
(25:57):
a power team and you could get to the law
and that was the fact that we missed twelve foul
shots in that game and then we eventually lose by four. Well,
also he be I think that Calvin Ramsey came in
for them off the bench and had like a big
second half. Yes, what a shot by Ranching. Trouble men
(26:20):
the shot. And he's played really well Ransy and he's
the reason why New Jersey has gotten back into the game,
especially the second half. Absolutely. And then also as you
mentioned George Johnson. I don't think George scored that game,
but he had four block shots and really clogged up
the middle in the second half, and George Johnson got
a piece of that shot. The ball went off New Jersey,
(26:40):
so Johnson got a piece of that Bernard King shot. Well,
George Johnson, it is the second leading shot blocker in
history in the NBA, and that time he did get
a piece of the shot. You know, he was he
was a really good defensive player at that time, and
he really helped them. Both of those guys really helped
the nets in the second half. You guys were up
by four at the end of the third quarter. At
(27:00):
this point, Bernard has fifty one points and you mentioned
Michael Ray Richardson to touch on him quick. He had
twenty four after three quarters. Um, you mentioned ending up
with thirty six points. How tough just in general was
he to stop? And you look at his career and um,
you look at some of the challenges he overcame. But
just a player of his caliber, trying to slow someone
(27:22):
like him down, Well, you're talking about an athlete that
had size as a point guard, and he was extremely quick,
and he could get into the painted areas, he could score,
he could make the passes at century, he could do everything.
He was an all around point guard. Now when he
was at his best physically, he was one of the
(27:46):
most destructive point guards that we had playing in the
league at that time. Michael Ray with another tough shot.
What a game You agreed that that earn absolutely. I
mean imagine Johnson Isaiah Thomas were probably the top two.
But Sugar with his size and the things he can do,
and he pushed the ball up the court. I mean
(28:08):
he got the ball up the court quick. He's a
very good defender, long, had quick anticipation. So yeah, he
was right up there at the top. The only thing
he didn't have. His shot was a little bit inconsistent
at times. But as far as the open court, he
was deadly. So let's let's get to the record breaking
moment of this game. Scoring record for the Knicks and
(28:30):
for Medicine Square Garden was Richie Garran's fifty seven points.
Did Bernard know he was reaching that? Did anyone on
the bench know? Was was anyone aware? Um, not just
of the numbers being put up, but but these records,
um were about to be broken? Well, if they did,
they didn't announce it, okay, uh. And Richie was a
(28:52):
great player, you know, in college it was a marine
and was in the service as an officer. And he
was one of the toughest players ever to put on
a New York Nick uniform. Believe me, and I'm talking
of the entire entire years that the Nickers have had
(29:12):
a team. Richie was one of the toughest ever to play.
Looking out a tie, Richie Garon's fifty seven points, which
is a Nick record for a Nick player on this
file shot past tie the record fifty seven points for
an r king. But as far as us knowing that
that was the record, no, that's you know that that
(29:33):
all comes out after the game when media, you know,
searches back or stuff. Like that, or maybe they look
back in the fourth quarter with the record, But but
the guys on the bench and that, and the coaching staff,
you're you're not You're not involved in anything like that.
At least we weren't. Myself and my coaches were now
(29:55):
going for an all time Nick record points in one game.
You saw it here for Bernard King the next way,
why I wanted Brooklyn born Uh to think about the
garden how much at that point you didn't know the
injuries to come, but that that Bernard had overcome. How
(30:17):
big of a moment do you feel like that was
for him? Well, it's always a big moment when you
score that kind of number, you know, especially on the
big stage, the whole country's watching you, and with the
efficiency that he did it with. But afterwards, you know,
I think he would have much rather had to win
and scored less points because that's the kind of guy
he was. That's how he always was. Winning was big
(30:41):
with Bernard. He was not a boastful type of a person.
As a matter of part, Granny will tell you he's
very quiet, even a practice or during the game. This
guy just played the game with the face. He matched
that with his talent and his heart. That's what you
looked about this guy. I'll tell you, Jim, what's so
(31:03):
great about it is that Bernard King has had ups
and downs in his life and he's been able to
get over the hurdle and now he's on a tremendous
high as far as his life is career is concerned.
And you'd like to see that because this is what
you know. The world sports is all about doing well
as Louis or leaves and James Bailey comes in for him.
(31:25):
So I'm happy for Bernard Key. Let's fight tun up
and our king looking for his sixty point six King,
Let's fight three. No matter how hard you hit him,
no matter how many times you put him down, he's
coming back at you. And naturally, when we get down
to the closing end, we can't close. And you've got
(31:46):
to give the nuts credit they were able to execute
at the end. But the underlining of the sixty points, well,
when you think about it, what is it to thirty
years later, it's finally broken in the garden and just
think of having a record like that in your home area.
(32:07):
And then for his family, the entire family and everybody
being at the game, and being able to see you excel.
It had to be a remarkable day for his family,
and the jersey was that when King becomes the all
times single game score and it's history with sixty. Unfortunately
(32:32):
lost that ball game, but for me to score sixty
points in the ball game was something I didn't believe
I did. Uh. It was an incredible feeling I had
at ninth and to be doing in New York City,
the city where I grew up, was very very special.
(32:53):
If you notice, he'll always bring up the fact that
he only scored nineteen thousand, six hundred and fifty points. Okay,
he always brings that up because he was short of
the thousand, which was his goal. And just think about
that a second. You talk about guys having goals. That
was the burning thing inside of him to get the
(33:16):
twenties thousand. It's incredible. In QB, I just want to
circle back to what you said in first looking at
the records being broken on this night, Um the next one,
but Bernard was sixty points, nineteen of thirty, shooting twenty
six from the free throw line. Kobe finally broke that
record at the Garden in two thousand nine. Carmelo broke
(33:39):
the Knicks record in But to think about these records
standing alone for twenty five years, in thirty years and
h B, I know you touched on it, but Ernie,
how impressive is it to think about with those type
of players and the caliber coming through that those records
stood for that long. Well, don't forget there was no
(33:59):
three point and shot. There was the three point shot,
but nobody shot the threes. Bernard never took three point shots,
so he got that, you know, on two's and vowel shots.
And uh, I'm sure Kobe and Carmelo had a bunch
of threes with that. But it just shows the greatness
of the guy, you know, and nobody's more deserving because
nobody put in more work. He was good to be around.
(34:20):
He was very unselfish. For a guy that averaged so
many points, he was extremely unselfish. And as you'll be mentioned,
he was quiet. He was fun to be with, but
on the court he was all business. He didn't want
to be bothered with anything. He didn't want to be
distracted with anything because he had laser focus on what
he needed to do. How do you think, qbu First,
(34:42):
But Ernie, I'm curious what you you think, how do
you think Bernard's game would fare in the modern NBA,
and just transition through through the different iterations of some
of the style of play that we've seen it in
the league. Bernard King could have played in any era
when it first started in the eighties. When you talk
(35:04):
about the eighties and we talk about Bird and Jordans
and Dominique Wilkins and all these guys, just think he
was leading and scoring at that time. He could score
at any era. Now today there's so much switching. Bernard
Kin would blow by any front court guys that were
(35:27):
switching and would post up just in freelance with the
clock going down any time that he had a mismatch,
but he would go to one of his favorite areas.
When you talk about guys who scored that amount of
points back in the time of the hard foul hand
(35:47):
checking using the forearm on cutters to get to areas
to take that physical punishment. In the eighties, nineties and
the two thousand before they changed the rules, these guys
could score against anybody because of the athleticism. And that's
what we were hammering early on because you cannot take
(36:09):
away the six seven quickness the fact he can go
right or left, the fact that he could spin, he
could face up and take you off the dribble. He
didn't need the three point game. And to say would
he adapt, well, all of the players adopt? What? What?
(36:30):
What are they making a big deal of today? Right now?
The fact that the rant is shooting over sixties in
the twos? Oh no kidding? Is that right? Are we
talking about Bernard King facing up like Durant? Now? What's
the rants advantage? The elevation at six ten, six eleven
(36:52):
or seven foot and the wingspan on the fade? Well,
Bernard had that way back. He had the spins, he
had the face ups, he had the mid range high percentages,
and then just like the Rent, you can't foul him.
He could excel today. And I don't want to make
any outrageous statements because he backed up everything that people
(37:16):
said or question that he might not be able to do.
He did it, and he did it with style and efficiency. Ernie,
Is there anyone in the in the current NBA that
reminds you of of Bernard? I don't think so. I
think it's really hard to compare players from different errors.
(37:37):
You know, I think we should enjoy these guys right
now and their greatness, but also give credit to the
guys that played in the eighties and nineties. You know,
you can go back before then to Jerry West and
Oscar Robertson, and I guarantee you if they played in
today's game, they would still be the top top players
because they'll figure it out. Because, like you said, if
(37:59):
if the three only shot is what's so big right now,
Bernard King would have been a really good three point
shooter because that's what he would have worked on. But
he didn't work on that because that's not how the
game was played at that time. When you look at
his career and you step back and you say, yeah,
he was an All Star player plenty of times, but
he was also first team All NBA twice. Now, once
(38:21):
he went down with that injury, that took him out
of the first team All NBA category. So you're traveling
with you know, four other people at a height that's
going worldwide reputation and he could back it up. Now
we all know that when he came back, he missed
two years, he played six games at the end of
(38:44):
the one season he averaged over you know, but they
decided that he's going to get traded. He goes to Washington,
and he still scores in Washington. But then the one
year in Washington, he comes back and he scores twenty
eight a game. And that was. Now you think about
(39:12):
all of the injuries that he had even in Washington,
that at thirty four years of age and in ninety
he still could put up twenty eight in this leg
and he did not have the incredible spin move in
both in both legs that he had before that a
c L to that right, need well, he completely had
(39:34):
to change his game because he didn't have the explosiveness
and the speed that he had before the injury. Now
that time and a c L was really a career
ending kind of injury. Almost technology wasn't what it is today.
Very very few players came back to be the same
as they were before the injury. And to his credit,
(39:54):
Bernard figured out how he can score and how he
could be an affe the player after not having the
same explosion. And he said Washington the average game and
made the All Star team. And I think back in
those days, up to that point, he was the only
player ever who was an All Star get hurt and
(40:16):
then come back after that injury of being an All
Star again. And it was just a shame when he
went down because he lost two years of a great
time in his career, but he still came back to
be able to put up big numbers, an absolute legend. Well,
I can't thank you both enough for your time and
for your memories. Um, please know how much we all
(40:37):
appreciate this, right, see you Friday there. NBA Flashback is
a production of I Heart Radio in the NBA. For
more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast
(41:00):
you I want to
NBA Flashback is a production of I Heart Radio in
the NBA. Happy Holidays and welcome to another exciting night
of NBA basketball. Watching NBA, you know, on Christmas Day
as a kid, was what I look forward to every
year and just a different feeling of excitement about spending
(00:23):
time with family and watching the greatest teams of that
year play. Just fly up to the rim hole ho
hole man. There's nothing better than playing the Christmas Day
that you know, all the families out on the world
watching that game with their families. So it's a fun
experience and it's a it's a president. You can give
it to the fans. Christmas gets away from a long
(00:48):
zo trigger legendary rivalries, epic rematches, and the best teams
in the league meet each year on Christmas Day. For
basketball fans, the NBA is a huge part of the
holiday fest activities, serving as a backdrop whether you're opening
gifts or sharing a meal with family. Christmas Day, you know,
d Way doing off the glass, the brand kissing you,
(01:08):
Duncan kissing to lift hand, Duncan, You're ducing day wrap back,
plat it out of your Christmas tree. Christmas Day games
are an opportunity to change the course of the season
and bust open expectations. You know how hard it is
for NBA teams to get that platform to play, and
(01:31):
you know so many grades have played on Christmas as well,
so it's a huge honor and it chuck off just
like Santa Claus does, he goes up the chimney. And
as we get close to Christmas, there is no better
time to start a new NBA podcast. I'm sarahcu Stack
(01:53):
and be a analyst for the Yes Network, a broadcaster
for Fox Sports, and as a basketball junkie. I am
ex sited to be the host of this new podcast
called NBA Flashback. The show takes you back to the
greatest moments in NBA history, using archival audio from the
NBA as well as new interviews with the players and
(02:13):
coaches who were in the building. We will dive deep
into some of the most legendary games and performances of
all time and talk with the best minds in the game.
In our first episode, we flash back to a very
special Christmas Day game in nineteen four the Nets first
the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, a night where Bernard
(02:35):
King put on a spectacular show, scoring a then Knicks
record sixty points. Verry Christmas, everyone, and welcome to Madison
Square Garden, wearing the night the New York Knicks the
New Jersey Nets. That's Sam Rosen from MSG Network. Hello, everyone,
a very Christmas and a happy holiday season. All had
(02:56):
a wonderful Christmas Day. It's Christmas Night basket ball, something
that started back at Madison Square Garden in and this
is the thirty second Christmas Night basketball game to be
played at the Garden. It's the Knicks and the Nets,
and this is the fifth time of the last six
years that these two teams have gotten together on Christmas
Night or Christmas Day. As we get you ready for
(03:18):
the game, we begin with then Nick's head coach Hubie Brown.
Hubie is a two time and be A Coach of
the Year, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame,
and one of the greatest NBA analysts ever. In his
pregame interview from the Locker Room, he gives an honest
assessment of his team heading into the Christmas game against
(03:38):
the Nets. Here's Hubie. Their problems are different than our problems.
They have a low post power again with Kaminski and
Buck Williams. Consequently, their guards are open on kickbacks when
they get double teamed. You do not have that luxury
(04:02):
if you double team us outside of Bernard King. Uh,
you're very foolish. Now, let's bring in Hube along with
then Nick's player, legendary NBA executive and close friend of
Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, to give us some perspective on
this game where we saw pique Bernard King just a
(04:23):
few months before a devastating knee injury to change the
course of his career in NBA history. Hub Ernie, first
of all, thank you so much for joining me here
and to relive such a special moment. We know how
much Christmas Day games mean and what an honor it
(04:45):
is to be able to play on that day. Um,
So take me back, Hub, you first describe what it
was like December Nick's nets at the garden. What do
you remember that morning about getting prepared for that game. Well,
first of all, you were the only game of the day,
(05:06):
and the Knicks for five straight years that I was there,
played on Christmas Day and it was the only game.
So naturally, when you put in the fact that it
was New York and New Jersey, both teams had an
awful lot of talent with great success in eighty three
and eighty four. Before the five season, now they had
(05:27):
injuries and then we lost two of our best front
court players and Truck Robinson and Marvin Webster who retired
over the summer because of medical problems. And then in
that game, Billy Cartwright, our starting center, was out with
a stress fracture one of four operations. But the rivalry
(05:48):
was great. Uh, they were loaded. They had a terrific
backcourt and Michael Ray Richardson and Otis person and then
up front they had Albert King, Jaminsky and Buck Williams.
So we knew that is going to be a great game.
And I think Arny from a player's standpoint, could give
you another look. Well, from my standpoint, there was a
regular game. We did the same things to always do.
(06:10):
We come in and you prepare and you have your routine.
And we were actually good friends with all those guys
from the Nets because we practiced in New Jersey at
Upstillar College at that time and we used to work
out with the nets during the summer all the time.
So it was just a regular kind of game for us.
Although you were on the big stage because you're getting ready. Actually,
I think I was hurt that game, and I was
(06:31):
just sitting on the bench trying to keep stats for
Hugh Be like I do sometimes. Ernie. I'm interested in
you saying that though, because as a player, I think
all players have a different perspective going into games and
um treating approaching at the same. Bernard King, though he
is known for his pregame intensity, how he gets locked in,
was there anything different from your perspective? Do you recall
(06:53):
in watching him as he got set for that one?
I don't think there's anything different. You know, burnout is
really unique. First of all, I played with him three
years in college. Even though I'm from New York, I'm
from Queens, he's from Brooklyn. We never really played against
each other in high school. I'm a year older than him.
But at college we played together for three years, and
then you come to the Knicks and we played together
(07:15):
for four years there. Also, he had the unique ability,
which I haven't never seen any other player to really
just turn it on. It's like a light, it switches
on and off. Slip yet in the garden, and he
just motivates himself. His locker was right next to mine,
(07:36):
and sometimes he just sits there trying to motivate himself,
and he'd worked himself into a sweat, and I don't
know how he did that. I remember one time we
were in then this is when Hugh he first became
the coach, and he would be, you know, he had
a lot of stuff up there on the board of
all the keys to the game and everything else, and
Bernard would be looking down trying to get ready, you know,
(07:58):
trying to do whatever he does. And he he says,
be watchman, pick your head up. Watch this. So he
picked his head up for about three seconds and put
his head back down to he says, be, watch what
we're doing. Watch what we're doing. So he watched it,
and he put his head back down again. After a
while he be just said that he's gonna score forty anyway.
Let him do it anyway he wants. Every player is different.
(08:22):
So you're dealing with a cerebral player who was one
of the greatest athletes before the accident to the a
c L and the bone in the leg before that,
running on the fails break in the left lane. The
only guy that could compare it to him in the eighties,
(08:42):
was James Worthy of the Lakers. They could fly on
the break, then they could execute in the secondary break
if the break didn't score, and then if they set
into their sets, whatever you ran for Bernard, He's efficiency
at the college level of overaging point shooting over then
(09:07):
he comes into the pros and here he is with
us and he's scoring all of these points. He's leading
the leg and scoring at this time of this game,
Bernard pulls the trigger the efficiency, the high shooting percentage,
and then the high foul shooting. He could get his
shot off of any double team, and the quickness with
(09:30):
the spin moves right or left leg. And it wasn't
just his quickness, it was also his explosiveness and his toughness.
It was extremely physical and he did a lot of
his work before he ever got the ball. He made
sure he got really good position when he was down
on that low post. But as Hugh be mentioned, running
the floor, especially on that left lane, he had the
(09:51):
unique ability not only to go straight but to go laterally,
so if the defense was set up against him, he
could let the defense is still go to the basket
with authority. He had so much explosiveness that he can
go finish with a dunk off the break, going a
hundred miles an hour, and he's just a fierce competitor.
(10:13):
He's a fierce competitor who has great skills and a
very very high basketball r Q. As Huby said, well,
I want to ask you both about that, because in
watching this game, it was just sensational seeing what he
was able to do and especially how he got cooking
so early. Bernard King on ties of these fouls, Jim
Carvellis and Butch Beard on the call for MSG, I
(10:36):
wouldn't do that to my worst sentiment, Well, you just
told his birds song saying something to Jeff Turner, and
Turner says, what am I supposed to do? Don't create contact.
You can't stand behind him, Jeff, and you can't three
quarter him, and you can't front him. You just what
else does he do? Well, you just make him work
as hard as you possibly can and let him get
(10:58):
his points and hope to make him work down in
the offense. On the defensive end, when New Jersey hadna
take jump shots from the outside and Butch Beard was
on the call, he was like, I don't know how
you guard him. You can't stay behind him. You can't
front him, you can't three quarters deny him. I don't
know what you do. How did players, teams? How did
you feel like they tried to And clearly that night
(11:20):
the nets were not capable of it. But how did
you feel like teams tried to slow him down? First
of all, you've got to give the team and the
chemistry to run the plays that opened up the players
in their high percentage areas. When you talk about half
court offense now in the open floor, Ernie said it perfectly,
(11:44):
the explosion. I remember six seven. Now, we had all
kinds of sets. Once we came on the break, it
wasn't there the secondary break. Naturally, he would be the
number one option of what we were doing that game,
of how we were trying to score in the secondary phase.
But during the regular season we had a number of
(12:06):
sets for him and for Cartwright, Truck, Robinson, you know,
basically are our frontline guys. So they had all different
things that they knew that we would run, and we
were also taking numbers grading that on each possession. On
the bench. We had people doing that, so we knew
(12:26):
which plays were good, which plays we're not working. As
we were moving through the quarters. Then also if you
surprised us with how you were going to double team
or double team and if he split, how you were
going to rotate to him, that would open up different
areas of the floor. The physical nous you could beat
(12:48):
on him, you can double team him, He's still going
to split and get to his spots. Ernie, how much
is because you brought that up to the physical play.
I mean in this game, just in the first quarter
of Loan, not only does Bernard have twenty points, but
Jeff Turner, Kevin McKenna, Michael Ray Richardson, they all were
trying to slow him down. They're all in foul trouble.
(13:09):
He said, I don't think right now the way New
Jersey is hurting that they have anybody to guard ring
our game. When our King got into Sparreau got King
and a file, a tripping file in New Jersey. Who
they gonna get this on? Ramsey? Ramsey foul Bernard King
before Michael Ray richards and most people consider twenty points
a game a terrific offensive night. Bernard's done it in
(13:32):
ten minutes and forty eight seconds. Was that a part
of the strategy of how you think Bernard approached the
offensive side or was that just in the flow of
how he played, No, it was everything he did was planned.
We lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and we were
like a mile away from each other, so we worked
out every day together before we went to scrimmage with
(13:54):
some other guys. But he thought out everything he did.
If you gave him the ball on the low post
that the double team came from the top, he would
go baseline. If it came from the side, he would
go this other way. He had a counter for every
move that the defense was going to give him, and
it was planned and he practiced it diligently every single day.
(14:16):
Bernard explained his approach to scoring, and so there's only
five ways you can depend me. That's it. I created
an offensive move for every way you can defend me.
That's it. And if I did that, then I'm always
going to be a force offensive one because you have
(14:36):
to give me one. Once I you've given me that move,
then I have spots that I'm going to go to
and I will not shoot anywhere else. You've given me
what I wanted. Now I'm gonna go to my spots,
and as Hugh Bey says, nobody practiced harder than him ever,
and he just did that on a daily basis. He
(14:57):
just had that ability and that's what made him a
great player. Plus his high basketball like you you can
just read it. He had a great feel for for
the game and where everything was coming from. And then
of course the ferocity. He hated to lose. And uh,
he was an outstanding teammate for a guy that averaged
so many points, you know, he was an outstanding teammate.
I remember Bernard had missed a couple of weeks with
(15:20):
with he heard his finger or jammed his finger and
he didn't play, and some of our other veteran players
were playing really well, and we want a couple of games,
and then Bernard comes back and the production from those
players went down. And as Hub, you know, he keeps
track of everything. Believe I've told Hube this before, but
Hube had analytics in the eighties, but he didn't have
(15:43):
a computer to run all the numbers, so he did
everything on the net. But as he said, he kept
track of every single thing, every fast break and what
the conversion rate was, offensive rebounding and what the conversion
rate was. So some of players when Bernard came back,
their production dropped a little bit, and we had a
(16:04):
team meeting and you'll be put everything up on the
board saying, you know, ten for ten games straight, you
guys did this. Now in the last six games, you're
doing this, and you know everybody's listening. And one of
the veteran players says, well, Hub, we're not getting the
ball because you're calling place for Bernard every time. And
Burnout is a very respectful. He doesn't say much really
(16:25):
in the locker rooms, but he leaves by example for sure.
And then Bernard spoke up and he said, you be
this game, don't call my number once except the last
two minutes. I want the ball every time. And then
he says, well, you have to get the ball because
you know, shooting fifty seven percent. But anyway, they agreed
to it, and he'll be said, Okay, we're not gonna
(16:45):
call your numbers in the last two minutes Bernard had
forty two. Anyway, Okay, you remember that, you be Oh yeah, look,
I'm sitting here earlier, and I'm thinking of game five
the year before, in the first round at Detroit. It
was the best of five, and in that series he's
playing with a splint on his middle finger. Okay, and
(17:10):
where we we got to be careful where we hit
him because of how many times he could dribble and
have the pain mangers maybe bothering, you know, there's no
question about it. He keeps rubbing them trying probably to
get some filling back into them. And in that series
he only scored over forty in four of the five games,
and then one game he at thirty six. And in
(17:32):
the big game that morning in the walkthrough, if you remember,
it was a hundred degrees in that arena because it
didn't have air conditioning and it was a Sunday afternoon
on national television. Lewis A's right, and what's his name?
The doctor was then that, you know, shooting him up,
get him some energy and that because he didn't even
(17:54):
do the walkthrough, and all he did with that game
was scored forty four. That's all. That's all he did, Yes,
forty four points. Can't you hit that with two defensive
players on him? Hell, that's it. You are shots over time?
What three to take? The shows at five for fish
(18:23):
post Suffers. We were with him and we just loved
the competitiveness. There was never an excuse because he played
both ends of the floor. He boarded, he ran his
hearty good on the break, and then he was a
great team player to play with. Unbelievable. I love that.
And you could see Ernie just even in your in
(18:44):
your story about just Bernard and how he got things
within the flow of the offense, even maybe if plays
weren't called for him, since weren't called for him. But
I'm curious the first half of this one, Hub, it
looked like he was getting the ball in the low post,
in the low block at so many possessions, and he
was just going to work. And New Jersey continues to
stay close in the game even though Bernard King is
(19:05):
eating them alive. It's been a one man offensive show
about the New York Knicks, Bernard King against the New
Jersey next unbelievable, alight times we use that word to
describe game. He's definitely on the road that's on. The
Knicks formed the triangle and Sparrow got it down inside it.
(19:26):
For as much as we talked, we talked today's game
at the NBA about guys getting to their spots, and Hub,
I know that's a big thing for you. Did Bernard
have certain spots on the floor, and from the looks
of it, it felt like every spot on the floor
was a spot. But how much of the post up
game or the strategy um in the half court offense
was about understanding where Bernard's spots were. With the great
(19:50):
scores that you have, you always thought to them before
the season even starts about where the best plays for
ever run for them at the high school or college level,
or with a team that we just got the player
from that plays that they liked, and in those conversations
they would tell you where their areas are. He liked
(20:12):
to talk about he had nine different areas, so it
didn't matter what you ran, right side, left side, so forth.
Because in the league most players can score and two
out of three areas. Now, with him, it didn't matter
which side of the three areas that you're running. That's
(20:33):
what made him so great. Now you have to realize
that at the end of the season, with a month ago,
he's leading the leading and scoring at thirty two point nine,
and second and third are Larry Bird and Michael Jordan's
and Purvis Short all right tied at up until that
(20:57):
March accident. Just think about how great he was playing
that there was a difference of four four points in
the scoring. You don't see that today. Well, he was
a well rounded player. He could do everything. You know.
I think that he liked the left box a little
bit more than anywhere else on the court because he
(21:18):
had a beautiful shot, a jump hook going into the middle,
and if you took that away from him, he would
spend god baseline for a little fade away twelve footer
that was unstoppable and the efficiency was off the charts.
Coming up, we looked back at one of the most
dominant first halfs in Nick's history. Forty points. Forty for
(21:42):
Bernard King in the first half, and then think about
doing that. I didn't know I did that until I
was leaving the floor. Here you're going to see Bernard
team do it all. First of all, he going to
grab the rebound right here. Now the nice little watch
(22:03):
passed to James Bailey who was running the floor. Well,
he is out of control right there. He puts it
up hard. There you see Bernard Keen snaking in, tipping
it in. Bernard Keene coast to coast. Forty for Bernard
King in the first half. Yeah, so you mentioned the efficiency.
(22:24):
So halftime of this game, Bernard has forty points, thirteen
of sixteen from the field, fourteen of seventeen from the
free throw line. Just incredible efficiency to go along with
those big time numbers. What was the conversation like in
the locker room and and I'm curious from your perspective,
h but you guys were um you were up by
(22:45):
ten at that point at the end of the half.
But for Bernard to have forty points to go along
with it, what was said and what do you remember
about it? Naturally we were ahead, we were up ten,
But what happened was in the second half. Yeah, for
the game, we missed twelve foul shots. We were still
up four at the end of three. But Michael Ray
(23:05):
Richardson had a great second half and I do believe
in the game he had like thirty five. But he
he heard this and so did Mike Jaminski. At the
center position. Bransy got a step then gave it up
to Michael Ray. Two point shot, point shot. It was
(23:26):
not alive. But now that this way is only two
and Michael Ray bringing up back. Now, now, if we
had Cartwright, it would have been a different story. But
Cartwright was out, you know, for a long period of
time with the first of four fractures in his foot.
So Jaminski was able to also take advantage of our
(23:47):
centers that we had at the time. We had a
lot of inexperienced there. Jaminski, what a game he's played.
We talked about Michael Ray, he's played a good Dame.
Jam has been terrific. Twenty five points and well rebounds
and the NIXT leader is only one, but that will
always be prepared for the other teams of how else
(24:08):
are they gonna try? Yeah, sure, they tried those three
younger guys at the beginning, but then they came with
George Johnson. They came with a six ten guy later,
and they came with more saw. I'll tell you what
George Johnson is really making him think, isn't a well,
he's making him alter that shot, especially when he's posting
down low because of his long arms and timing. And
(24:29):
here you see Buck Williams coming into the game for
Jeff Turner, right bucket, And they're gonna keep us keep
George Johnson up and are though why not? He's the
only guy that's had any success on him at all.
And then they changed their rotations on their traps and that, well,
then you had to be prepared for that. You can't
have a great score and not have answers to how
(24:54):
the opposition is going to come at you that you
might not have been prepared for, say it was something new,
Well at halftime or at time out, you have got
to be able to adjust, and your team has got
to know that what you are giving them we have
done before and we've seen every type of defense that
(25:14):
you could have un Bernard, because you got to remember
now the year before in eighty four he scores fifty
twice down in San Antonio and in Dallas, but I'm
looking for fifty and he's got a back to back
fifty point k K. And then in the playoffs he
got over forty those four times against the Trade and
(25:36):
in the second round they said he had never got
forty against the Celtics. Well, he left us to a
game seven. So you have to be able to answer
to your team in that type of situation and hope
that we can continue on what we were doing. But
the thing which was hurting us along because we were
(25:57):
a power team and you could get to the law
and that was the fact that we missed twelve foul
shots in that game and then we eventually lose by four. Well,
also he be I think that Calvin Ramsey came in
for them off the bench and had like a big
second half. Yes, what a shot by Ranching. Trouble men
(26:20):
the shot. And he's played really well Ransy and he's
the reason why New Jersey has gotten back into the game,
especially the second half. Absolutely. And then also as you
mentioned George Johnson. I don't think George scored that game,
but he had four block shots and really clogged up
the middle in the second half, and George Johnson got
a piece of that shot. The ball went off New Jersey,
(26:40):
so Johnson got a piece of that Bernard King shot. Well,
George Johnson, it is the second leading shot blocker in
history in the NBA, and that time he did get
a piece of the shot. You know, he was he
was a really good defensive player at that time, and
he really helped them. Both of those guys really helped
the nets in the second half. You guys were up
by four at the end of the third quarter. At
(27:00):
this point, Bernard has fifty one points and you mentioned
Michael Ray Richardson to touch on him quick. He had
twenty four after three quarters. Um, you mentioned ending up
with thirty six points. How tough just in general was
he to stop? And you look at his career and um,
you look at some of the challenges he overcame. But
just a player of his caliber, trying to slow someone
(27:22):
like him down, Well, you're talking about an athlete that
had size as a point guard, and he was extremely quick,
and he could get into the painted areas, he could score,
he could make the passes at century, he could do everything.
He was an all around point guard. Now when he
was at his best physically, he was one of the
(27:46):
most destructive point guards that we had playing in the
league at that time. Michael Ray with another tough shot.
What a game You agreed that that earn absolutely. I
mean imagine Johnson Isaiah Thomas were probably the top two.
But Sugar with his size and the things he can do,
and he pushed the ball up the court. I mean
(28:08):
he got the ball up the court quick. He's a
very good defender, long, had quick anticipation. So yeah, he
was right up there at the top. The only thing
he didn't have. His shot was a little bit inconsistent
at times. But as far as the open court, he
was deadly. So let's let's get to the record breaking
moment of this game. Scoring record for the Knicks and
(28:30):
for Medicine Square Garden was Richie Garran's fifty seven points.
Did Bernard know he was reaching that? Did anyone on
the bench know? Was was anyone aware? Um, not just
of the numbers being put up, but but these records,
um were about to be broken? Well, if they did,
they didn't announce it, okay, uh. And Richie was a
(28:52):
great player, you know, in college it was a marine
and was in the service as an officer. And he
was one of the toughest players ever to put on
a New York Nick uniform. Believe me, and I'm talking
of the entire entire years that the Nickers have had
(29:12):
a team. Richie was one of the toughest ever to play.
Looking out a tie, Richie Garon's fifty seven points, which
is a Nick record for a Nick player on this
file shot past tie the record fifty seven points for
an r king. But as far as us knowing that
that was the record, no, that's you know that that
(29:33):
all comes out after the game when media, you know,
searches back or stuff. Like that, or maybe they look
back in the fourth quarter with the record, But but
the guys on the bench and that, and the coaching staff,
you're you're not You're not involved in anything like that.
At least we weren't. Myself and my coaches were now
(29:55):
going for an all time Nick record points in one game.
You saw it here for Bernard King the next way,
why I wanted Brooklyn born Uh to think about the
garden how much at that point you didn't know the
injuries to come, but that that Bernard had overcome. How
(30:17):
big of a moment do you feel like that was
for him? Well, it's always a big moment when you
score that kind of number, you know, especially on the
big stage, the whole country's watching you, and with the
efficiency that he did it with. But afterwards, you know,
I think he would have much rather had to win
and scored less points because that's the kind of guy
he was. That's how he always was. Winning was big
(30:41):
with Bernard. He was not a boastful type of a person.
As a matter of part, Granny will tell you he's
very quiet, even a practice or during the game. This
guy just played the game with the face. He matched
that with his talent and his heart. That's what you
looked about this guy. I'll tell you, Jim, what's so
(31:03):
great about it is that Bernard King has had ups
and downs in his life and he's been able to
get over the hurdle and now he's on a tremendous
high as far as his life is career is concerned.
And you'd like to see that because this is what
you know. The world sports is all about doing well
as Louis or leaves and James Bailey comes in for him.
(31:25):
So I'm happy for Bernard Key. Let's fight tun up
and our king looking for his sixty point six King,
Let's fight three. No matter how hard you hit him,
no matter how many times you put him down, he's
coming back at you. And naturally, when we get down
to the closing end, we can't close. And you've got
(31:46):
to give the nuts credit they were able to execute
at the end. But the underlining of the sixty points, well,
when you think about it, what is it to thirty
years later, it's finally broken in the garden and just
think of having a record like that in your home area.
(32:07):
And then for his family, the entire family and everybody
being at the game, and being able to see you excel.
It had to be a remarkable day for his family,
and the jersey was that when King becomes the all
times single game score and it's history with sixty. Unfortunately
(32:32):
lost that ball game, but for me to score sixty
points in the ball game was something I didn't believe
I did. Uh. It was an incredible feeling I had
at ninth and to be doing in New York City,
the city where I grew up, was very very special.
(32:53):
If you notice, he'll always bring up the fact that
he only scored nineteen thousand, six hundred and fifty points. Okay,
he always brings that up because he was short of
the thousand, which was his goal. And just think about
that a second. You talk about guys having goals. That
was the burning thing inside of him to get the
(33:16):
twenties thousand. It's incredible. In QB, I just want to
circle back to what you said in first looking at
the records being broken on this night, Um the next one,
but Bernard was sixty points, nineteen of thirty, shooting twenty
six from the free throw line. Kobe finally broke that
record at the Garden in two thousand nine. Carmelo broke
(33:39):
the Knicks record in But to think about these records
standing alone for twenty five years, in thirty years and
h B, I know you touched on it, but Ernie,
how impressive is it to think about with those type
of players and the caliber coming through that those records
stood for that long. Well, don't forget there was no
(33:59):
three point and shot. There was the three point shot,
but nobody shot the threes. Bernard never took three point shots,
so he got that, you know, on two's and vowel shots.
And uh, I'm sure Kobe and Carmelo had a bunch
of threes with that. But it just shows the greatness
of the guy, you know, and nobody's more deserving because
nobody put in more work. He was good to be around.
(34:20):
He was very unselfish. For a guy that averaged so
many points, he was extremely unselfish. And as you'll be mentioned,
he was quiet. He was fun to be with, but
on the court he was all business. He didn't want
to be bothered with anything. He didn't want to be
distracted with anything because he had laser focus on what
he needed to do. How do you think, qbu First,
(34:42):
But Ernie, I'm curious what you you think, how do
you think Bernard's game would fare in the modern NBA,
and just transition through through the different iterations of some
of the style of play that we've seen it in
the league. Bernard King could have played in any era
when it first started in the eighties. When you talk
(35:04):
about the eighties and we talk about Bird and Jordans
and Dominique Wilkins and all these guys, just think he
was leading and scoring at that time. He could score
at any era. Now today there's so much switching. Bernard
Kin would blow by any front court guys that were
(35:27):
switching and would post up just in freelance with the
clock going down any time that he had a mismatch,
but he would go to one of his favorite areas.
When you talk about guys who scored that amount of
points back in the time of the hard foul hand
(35:47):
checking using the forearm on cutters to get to areas
to take that physical punishment. In the eighties, nineties and
the two thousand before they changed the rules, these guys
could score against anybody because of the athleticism. And that's
what we were hammering early on because you cannot take
(36:09):
away the six seven quickness the fact he can go
right or left, the fact that he could spin, he
could face up and take you off the dribble. He
didn't need the three point game. And to say would
he adapt, well, all of the players adopt? What? What?
(36:30):
What are they making a big deal of today? Right now?
The fact that the rant is shooting over sixties in
the twos? Oh no kidding? Is that right? Are we
talking about Bernard King facing up like Durant? Now? What's
the rants advantage? The elevation at six ten, six eleven
(36:52):
or seven foot and the wingspan on the fade? Well,
Bernard had that way back. He had the spins, he
had the face ups, he had the mid range high percentages,
and then just like the Rent, you can't foul him.
He could excel today. And I don't want to make
any outrageous statements because he backed up everything that people
(37:16):
said or question that he might not be able to do.
He did it, and he did it with style and efficiency. Ernie,
Is there anyone in the in the current NBA that
reminds you of of Bernard? I don't think so. I
think it's really hard to compare players from different errors.
(37:37):
You know, I think we should enjoy these guys right
now and their greatness, but also give credit to the
guys that played in the eighties and nineties. You know,
you can go back before then to Jerry West and
Oscar Robertson, and I guarantee you if they played in
today's game, they would still be the top top players
because they'll figure it out. Because, like you said, if
(37:59):
if the three only shot is what's so big right now,
Bernard King would have been a really good three point
shooter because that's what he would have worked on. But
he didn't work on that because that's not how the
game was played at that time. When you look at
his career and you step back and you say, yeah,
he was an All Star player plenty of times, but
he was also first team All NBA twice. Now, once
(38:21):
he went down with that injury, that took him out
of the first team All NBA category. So you're traveling
with you know, four other people at a height that's
going worldwide reputation and he could back it up. Now
we all know that when he came back, he missed
two years, he played six games at the end of
(38:44):
the one season he averaged over you know, but they
decided that he's going to get traded. He goes to Washington,
and he still scores in Washington. But then the one
year in Washington, he comes back and he scores twenty
eight a game. And that was. Now you think about
(39:12):
all of the injuries that he had even in Washington,
that at thirty four years of age and in ninety
he still could put up twenty eight in this leg
and he did not have the incredible spin move in
both in both legs that he had before that a
c L to that right, need well, he completely had
(39:34):
to change his game because he didn't have the explosiveness
and the speed that he had before the injury. Now
that time and a c L was really a career
ending kind of injury. Almost technology wasn't what it is today.
Very very few players came back to be the same
as they were before the injury. And to his credit,
(39:54):
Bernard figured out how he can score and how he
could be an affe the player after not having the
same explosion. And he said Washington the average game and
made the All Star team. And I think back in
those days, up to that point, he was the only
player ever who was an All Star get hurt and
(40:16):
then come back after that injury of being an All
Star again. And it was just a shame when he
went down because he lost two years of a great
time in his career, but he still came back to
be able to put up big numbers, an absolute legend. Well,
I can't thank you both enough for your time and
for your memories. Um, please know how much we all
(40:37):
appreciate this, right, see you Friday there. NBA Flashback is
a production of I Heart Radio in the NBA. For
more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast
(41:00):
you I want to
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