On this day in 1961, Boston Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn scored 45 points in the Celtics’ 127 – 122 win over the Syracuse Nationals (now, the Philadelphia 76ers) on the road for the holiday.
It remains the record to this day for points scored in a Christmas Day game by a Celtic player (point guards Kyrie Irving and Bob Cousy hold the next two highest scores at 40 and 35 points, respectively), as well as being the most points scored by the Hall of Fame power forward in any game of his career. The Holy Cross product would go on to win his fifth title with the team of eight later that season, but played a game for the ages that holiday tilt first.
MOST POINTS BY A CELTIC ON CHRISTMAS DAY
45 – Tommy Heinsohn, 1961
40 – KYRIE IRVING, 2018
35 – Bob Cousy, 1954
34 – Sam Jones, 1964
33 – JoJo White, 1974
32 – Bill Russell, 1958*
31 – Rajon Rondo, 2011
30 – JoJo White, 1971* Yeah, throw in 33 rebounds, too
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 26, 2018
