February 25, 1996 - New York Knicks forward J.R. Reid was suspended for two games and fined $10,000 for an intentional elbow to the face of the Phoenix Suns' A.C. Green. The blow resulted in two dislodged teeth for Green and extensive dental surgery shortly thereafter, putting his 784 consecutive games played streak at risk. Alas, Green flew to Salt Lake City the very next evening and played 68 seconds against the Utah Jazz, keeping his streak alive.

Typically a starter pulling heavy minutes, Green played an average of just five minutes a night over the following 11 games as he recovered from his injury. He went on to break Randy Smith's NBA record for consecutive games played by appearing in his 907th straight game on Nov. 20, 1997. Green eventually pushed that record to 1,192 games before retiring as a member of the Miami Heat in 2001.

As for Reid, his elbow marred what was the finest showing of his 33-game stint with the Don Nelson-led Knicks. Helping fill the void for an injured Patrick Ewing, Reid pieced together a 22-point, 11-rebound performance that saw him connect on 9-of-10 shots from the field in a 113-105 loss.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Reid apologized for the elbow but admitted that "sometimes those things happen in the heat of the game."

L.A. Times Reference: [ Ссылка ]

After years of looking, this clip was located on Twitter by way of Twitter user @nba_trades: [ Ссылка ]

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