Lowest Scoring NBA Game in History
Everyone watches the NBA for its glory and attractiveness. We eagerly wait for the next game of our favorite team to see how good the players will be, how spectacular someone will dunk, and how fantastic the jump shots of the point guards will be.
The NBA had different periods in which trends changed. There were times when offence was everything, and that shifted towards defence. Today, you may say that different teams choose their strategies depending on the roster and the quality of the players. For example, the Golden State Warriors have an excellent mix of attack and defence because they have one of the most precise three-point shooters of all time, Steph Curry, and one of the best defenders of all time, Draymond Green.
Others are not so lucky to have such talent in their ranks. If they have better offensive players, they’ll focus on scoring more baskets, but if they rely more on their defensive strength, they’ll try to prevent the other team from scoring and gain their advantage this way.
This is how different games on the same night will end in a huge point difference. Some matches will have 300+ points in a single night, while others will not even pass the 200-point bar. How is this possible? Different tactics, as we mentioned.
NBA’s lowest-scoring games
The NBA history records some incredibly low-scoring games. The lowest-scoring game in NBA history is the one between the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers, which looked more like a handball match as it combined for only 37 points. These two teams played on November 22nd, 1950, and the match ended 19-18 for the Pistons. It’s interesting to note that the Lakers were the reigning champions that year. Some champions, huh?
What is the lowest points scored in an NBA Finals game?
The NBA finals are the most exciting time of the year for every basketball fan. This is when the best teams from the East and the West meet in a 7-game clash to determine the champion of the season. However, not all finals were as spectacular as they should be.
During the final series, both teams’ stakes are high, and they have a lot to lose if they play freely and relax, so naturally, every player on the court will play strong defence. That results in tougher shots and more misses from the shooting guards. The tactics are strict, and even if a coach has some of the best power forwards of all time in their ranks, you can’t expect a rainfall of baskets.
What is the minimum score for the NBA?
With this being said it’s normal to see many finals games low on points, but which one is the lowest points scored game or what is the minimum? The Utah Jazz scored only 54 points in the finals game 3 in Chicago against the Bulls. Even though they had John Stockton and Karl Malone, they were no match for the impressive defence of Michal Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Denis Rodman.
However, this is not the match with the fewest baskets scored in a match, but only by one team. The lowest points scored in a game total is the one between Syracuse Nationals and Minneapolis Lakers in 1954 when both teams scored only 122 points together – 62-60 for the Nationals.
What is the lowest-scoring NBA game since 2000?
The 50s in the NBA were different times, and the game evolved heavily since then. Those stats are entirely different from what we see today. If you’re a 2000s child, you’d want to know what the statistics are in the new millennium, when some of the greatest players of all time entered the league.
The lowest-scoring game in the NBA since 2000 is the one between the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat, played on December 20th, 2000, when both teams scored a total of 121 points. The Hornets won 65-56. If you instantly thought of the shortest basketball player in the NBA, Mugsy Bogues, who is a Charlotte Hornets icon, you should know that in the season 00/01, he played for the Raptors and was not part of this match.
Another match worth mentioning here is the one between the Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons from 2002 when the Nuggets scored only 54 points, which is the least points scored in an NBA game since 2000 by a single team. The match ended with a total of 127 points scored.
The Pistons in this period played strong defence and had more than one lowest-scoring NBA game on the list. They won the conference final in 2004 against the Indiana Pacers with 69-65 or a total of 134 points. Their roster had numerous players who played strong defence, such as Ben and Rasheed Wallace, with Ben winning the best defensive player of the year title. The Pacers also had their defensive aces in the names of Jermaine O`Neal and Ron Artest, which is why the highest score in all six games that final was only 85.