The highest scoring regular season NBA game in history was played in December 1983 between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons won the game on the road 186-184. The two teams combined to put up an NBA record 370 total points. The highest scoring NBA Playoff game of all time came in May 1992 when the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Phoenix Suns 153-151 in double overtime. The teams combined to score 304 points, this is the only time an NBA Playoff game has seen 300+ points.
Defense might well win championships, while offense ‘only’ wins games. But as fans, isn’t it great just to see players out there getting buckets? Let’s dive into the highest scoring NBA games of all time.
What are the highest scoring NBA games ever? Regular Season.
The highest scoring game in NBA history was played in December 1983 between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons won the game on the road 186-184. The two teams combined to put up an NBA record 370 total points in a thrilling game that went to triple overtime. 4 players scored at least 40 points. The Nuggets’ Kiki VanDeWeghe scored a game-high 51 points, the most he ever scored in a single game. Also for the Nuggets, Alex English (47) & Dan Issel (28) lit the scoreboard up. The Pistons leading scorers were Isiah Thomas (47), John Long (41) and Kelly Tripucka (35).
Below we have a list breaking down the 5 highest scoring NBA regular season games of all time.
| Regular Season top 5 highest scoring NBA Games | ||||||||
| Rank | Total Points | Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Home/Road Win | Final Score | OT Periods | Location |
| 1 | 370 | 13/12/1983 | Detroit Pistons | Denver Nuggets | Road | 186–184 | 3 | McNichols Arena Denver, Colorado |
| 2 | 351 | 24/02/2023 | Sacramento Kings | Los Angeles Clippers | Road | 176–175 | 2 | Crypto.com Arena Los Angeles, California |
| 3 | 337 | 06/03/1982 | San Antonio Spurs | Milwaukee Bucks | Home | 166–171 | 3 | HemisFair Arena San Antonio, Texas |
| 4 | 329 | 01/03/2019 | Chicago Bulls | Atlanta Hawks | Road | 168–161 | 4 | State Farm Arena Atlanta, Georgia |
| 5 | 320 | 02/11/1990 | Golden State Warriors | Denver Nuggets | Road | 162–158 | 0 | McNichols Arena Denver, Colorado |
Of the 5 highest scoring NBA games only 1 was won by the home team. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Bucks at home in March 1982 after triple overtime with the two teams combining to put up, a then record, 337 points. Brian Winters (42) and Junior Bridgeman (31) both came off the bench to lead the Bucks in scoring. While Mike Mitchell (45) and George “the iceman” Gervin (50) led the Spurs in scoring.
The highest scoring NBA game that did not involve any Overtime Periods came in November 1990 as the Warriors won on the road in Denver with the teams combining to score 320 points. When the buzzer sounded to end regulation the Warriors led 162-158 bringing the game to a close.
This is the highest score a regulation NBA game has ever finished with. The 4 games above it finished regulation well below this massive 320 points total before going to OT. The games finished with regulation points totals as below:
- Pistons@Nuggets – 290 points
- Kings@Clippers – 306 points
- Bucks@Spurs – 262
- Bulls@Hawks – 248
The most recent entry to the NBA highest scoring games list sits at second on the list. In February 2023 the high tempo Sacramento Kings tore into LA to face the Clippers. After double overtime they would emerge victorious. Malik Monk came off the bench to lead all scorers with 45 points. His teammate and Kings starting point guard De’aaron Fox put up 42. Kawhi Leonard had 44 for the Clippers while his all star team mate Paul George grabbed 34. Considering both George and Leonard are known for being elite defenders, this was quite the feather in the young Kings cap. The win came on the way to the Kings breaking a 16 year playoff drought.
What are the highest scoring NBA games ever? Playoffs Season.
Regular season scoring is all well and good. But in the NBA it’s not until playoff time that defenses really ratchet up and you have to truly earn those points. Let’s have a look at the NBA Playoff games that feature the most total combined points.
The highest scoring NBA Playoff game of all time came in May 1992 when the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Phoenix Suns 153-151 in double overtime. This gave them a 3-1 lead in the Western Semi Finals. The teams combined to score 304 points, this is the only time an NBA Playoff game has seen 300+ points. Portland would go on to win the series in 5 games and advance to the Western Finals. Kevin Johnson led the Suns and the game in scoring with 35. The Blazers were led by Clyde Drexler who grabbed 33 points.
In a mirror of the regular season the Home team dominates the Playoff list, with 4 teams winning at home and just 1 on the road. That road win was claimed by the Blazers in their chart topping win against the Suns.
| Rank | Total Points | Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Home/Road Win | Final Score | OT Periods | Location |
| 1 | 304 | 11/05/1992 | Portland Trail Blazers* | Phoenix Suns | Road | 153–151 | 2 | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2 | 287 | 01/06/2021 | Denver Nuggets | Portland Trail Blazers | Home | 147–140 | 2 | Ball Arena Denver, Colorado |
| 3 | 285 | 26/04/1983 | San Antonio Spurs | Denver Nuggets | Home | 152–133 | 0 | HemisFair Arena San Antonio, Texas |
| 4 | 285 | 28/04/1990 | Boston Celtics | New York Knicks | Home | 157–128 | 0 | Boston Garden Boston |
| 5 | 280 | 23/04/1987 | Dallas Mavericks | Seattle SuperSonics | Home | 151–129 | 0 | Reunion Arena Dallas |
The highest scoring NBA Playoff game with no overtime was between the Celtics and the Knicks. The two teams combined for 285 points in what was a one sided 157 – 128 victory for Boston. No other NBA playoff game has finished regulation with this many points. Even the highest scoring playoff game of all time between the Suns and the Blazers finished regulation with ‘just’ 254 points scored. The Celtics’ record setting win came in April 1990 during the first round of the Eastern Playoffs. The Celtics had won the first game and went 2-0 ahead with this win. However the Knicks would close out the series and advance 3-2.
Kevin Mchale led all scorers for the Celtics with 31 points in just 28 minutes. Patrick Ewing top scored for the Knicks with 28 points.
The most recent entry to the pantheon of high scoring NBA Playoff games came in June 2021. The Nuggets led by Nicola Jokic defeated Damian Lillard’s Blazers 147-140 in double overtime.
This was game 5 of a 1st round series that the Nuggets would eventually win in 6. While Jokic (38) and Michael Porter Jnr (26) combined for 64 points, the Blazers Damian Lillard put up 55 points on just 24 shots, hitting 12 of 17 three’s along the way.