Knicks fan Spike Lee pays homage to Bernard King in Christmas ad

***** ByBen Golliver T-minus five days until the NBA's quintuple header on Christmas Day, a lineup that will include the Heat, Thunder, Lakers, Clippers,

*****

ByBen Golliver

T-minus five days until the NBA's quintuple header on Christmas Day, a lineup that will include the Heat, Thunder, Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Bulls, Rockets, Nets, Nuggets and yes ... the Knicks. Of course, the Knicks. Always, the Knicks.

The NBA noted in a press release Thursday that New York will be making a record 48th appearance on Christmas when they travel to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to face the Lakers. The Knicks, with 22 wins, have also won the most games on Christmas.

In advance of that matchup, the league released a Christmas-themed commercial titled "Royalty is BIG" starring Knicks super-fan Spike Lee, recounting 1984, when Bernard King scored a Christmas Day record 60 points against the Nets in a 120-114 loss.

Lee, dressed in the Knicks' special orange "BIG Color" Christmas Day jersey, narrates King's big game, which also stands as a Knicks franchise scoring record.

"This is a story about B.K. from BK," Lee says into the camera while riding around New York in the back of an automobile. "Bernard King from Brooklyn, New York. It's 1984, the Garden is packed and I'm sitting in the last row. I could touch the room. And Bernard King, he was giving the Nets the business. 10, 20, 40 points. Second half, 50, 60 points. He was stopping and popping, posting and toasting. All hail the King."

The ad then closes with a transition to a building-size mural of Knicks All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony. "And, you know what? You never know who is going to wear the crown next," Lee concludes.

launched its first Christmas-themed ad