This Date in Sports History: Dec. 25
1956 — Corky Devlin of Fort Wayne goes 0 for 15 from the field against the Minneapolis Lakers to tie an NBA record.
1971 — Garo Yepremian’s 37-yard field goal at 7 minutes, 40 seconds of the second overtime gives the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the AFC playoffs. At 82:40, it’s the longest game in NFL history.
1984 — Bernard King of the New York Knicks scores 60 points in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets.
1995 — Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys scores his 25th touchdown of the season in a 37-13 win over Arizona, breaking the record for most TDs in a season. Smith passes John Riggins of Washington, who scored 24 in 1983.
1999 — Hawaii beats Oregon, 23-17, in the Oahu Bowl to go from 0-12 in 1998 to 9-4 — the greatest single-season improvement in NCAA history.
2002 — Katie Hnida becomes the first woman to play in a Division I football game when she attempts an extra point following a New Mexico touchdown in the Las Vegas Bowl. The walk-on junior’s kick is blocked in the 27-13 loss to UCLA.
2008 — The Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston to end the Celtics’ franchise-record winning streak at 19 games. Kobe Bryant scores 27 points and grabs nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles in the 92-83 win. Lakers coach Phil Jackson reaches 1,000 victories. Jackson, the sixth coach to reach 1,000, has a career record of 1,000-423 with Chicago and the Lakers.
2008 — New Orleans guard Chris Paul has his NBA-record steals streak end at 108 games in the Hornets’ 88-68 loss to Orlando.
2012 — The Los Angeles Clippers extend their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games with a 112-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers claim the NBA’s best record at 22-6 in the finale of a Christmas Day doubleheader at Staples Center. In the first game, Kobe Bryant scores 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game to lead the Lakers to a 100-94 win over the New York Knicks, 100-94.
2016 — Ben Roethlisberger shakes off a pair of interceptions to throw two late touchdowns, including a 4-yard strike to Antonio Brown with 9 seconds remaining to lift the Steelers to a 31-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The win is the 600th regular-season victory in franchise history. Roethlisberger also becomes the 10th player in NFL history to throw for at least 300 career touchdowns.
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