Isiah Thomas led the Pistons with 47 points in the 186-185 3OT shootout against the Nuggets.
On Dec. 13, 1983, the Detroit Pistons set the single-game scoring record for an NBA team with 186 points in an all-time shootout against the Nuggets. Detroit defeated Denver 186-184 in triple overtime to set the record, which still stands entering the 2024-25 season. The contest is also the highest-scoring game in NBA history, with 370 combined points, and Denver’s 184 points is the second-most by a team in an NBA game.
Isiah Thomas led the Pistons in the record-setting affair with 47 points and 17 assists, while his teammate John Long added 41 points. On the other side, Kiki VanDeWeghe dropped a game-high 51 points for Denver, who also got 47 points from Alex English. The contest remains the only instance of four 40-point scorers in a single NBA game, and each team made just one 3-pointer, which was adopted by the league ahead of the 1979-80 season.
Before the Pistons broke the mark, the Celtics held the single-game scoring record for an NBA team with 173 points against the Minneapolis Lakers on Feb. 27, 1959. In total, seven teams have eclipsed 170+ points in an NBA game, all of which have come in the shotclock era (since 1954).
- 186 points: Pistons (Dec. 13, 1983) | Win at DEN (186-184 / 3OT)
- 184 points: Nuggets (Dec. 13, 1983) | Loss vs. DET (186-184 / 3OT)
- 176 points: Kings (Feb. 24, 2023) | Win at LAC (176-175 / 2OT)
- 175 points: Clippers (Feb. 24, 2023) | Loss vs. SAC (176-175 / 2OT)
- 173 points: Celtics (Feb. 27, 1959) | Win vs. MNL (173-139)
- 173 points: Suns (Nov. 10, 1990) | Win vs. DEN (173-143)
- 171 points: Spurs (March 6, 1982) | Win vs. MIL (171-166 / 3OT)
The most points scored by one team in an NBA Playoff game is 157, accomplished by the Celtics in Game 2 of the first round of the 1990 postseason against the Knicks. Including Boston, nine teams have scored 150 or more points in a Playoff game.
- 157 points: Celtics (April 28, 1990) | R1 Win vs. NYK (157-128)
- 156 points: Bucks (March 30, 1970) | ECSF Win at PHI (156-120)
- 154 points: Clippers (Aug. 25, 2020) | R1 Win vs. DAL (154-111)
- 153 points: Trail Blazers (May 11, 1992) | WCSF Win at PHX (153-151 / 2OT)
- 153 points: Lakers (May 22, 1985) | WCF Win vs. DEN (153-109)
- 152 points: Spurs (April 26, 1983) | WCSF Win. vs. DEN (152-133)
- 151 points: Suns (May 11, 1992) | WCSF Loss vs. POR (153-151 / 2OT)
- 151 points: Mavericks (April 23, 1987) | R1 Win vs. SEA (151-129)
- 150 points: Raptors (Aug. 23, 2020) | R1 Win at BKN (150-122)
