You’ve seen the highlights. A modern superstar like Luka Doncic or Joel Embiid goes nuclear, dropping 60 or 70 points, and the internet melts down. It feels like we are living in the highest-scoring era ever. Honestly? We kind of are, but the absolute ceiling for a single game was actually built decades ago.
When people ask about the highest score in an nba game, they’re usually looking for one of two things: the most points a single human has ever dropped, or the night two teams collectively forgot how to play defense and broke the scoreboard.
The numbers are staggering. We are talking about a 100-point individual performance and a 370-point team marathon.
The Night the Scoreboard Broke: 186-184
If you want to talk about the absolute peak of team scoring, you have to look at December 13, 1983. The Detroit Pistons traveled to Denver to play the Nuggets. It sounds like a normal Tuesday night. It wasn't.
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By the time the final buzzer rang, the Pistons had 186 points. The Nuggets had 184.
That is 370 points in a single game.
It took three overtimes to get there, but even the regulation score was absurd. What’s wild is that this happened in the 80s—an era we usually associate with physical, "Bad Boy" style defense. But these Nuggets, coached by Doug Moe, played at a pace that would make today's Golden State Warriors look like they’re moving in slow motion.
The box score looks like a typo:
- Kiki Vandeweghe (Nuggets): 51 points
- Alex English (Nuggets): 47 points
- Isiah Thomas (Pistons): 47 points
- John Long (Pistons): 41 points
Four guys with 40+ points in one game. That hasn't happened since. Usually, if you score 184 points, you win by 60. In this case, the Nuggets lost.
Imagine scoring 184 points and still catching an "L" on your record. Basically, the defense was optional that night.
What is the Highest Score in an NBA Game by a Single Player?
Wilt. It’s always Wilt Chamberlain.
March 2, 1962. Hershey, Pennsylvania. No televised footage exists, which only makes the legend feel more like a tall tale. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks.
Think about that. 100.
To put that in perspective, the second-highest score ever is Kobe Bryant’s 81-point masterpiece against the Raptors in 2006. Kobe was playing the game of his life, hitting impossible threes, and he was still 19 points short of Wilt.
People love to nitpick this record. They say the Warriors were intentionally fouling the Knicks just to get the ball back so Wilt could reach the century mark. They say the Knicks were fouling other players to keep the ball away from him. It was a farce of a fourth quarter.
But he still had to put the ball in the hoop.
Chamberlain took 63 shots. He made 36 of them. He also had a rare "on" night at the free-throw line, sinking 28 of 32. For a guy who famously struggled with foul shots, that was the real miracle.
Modern Threats to the Throne
Recently, the 70-point barrier has been shattered more often. In the last few seasons, we've seen:
- Luka Doncic dropping 73 points against the Hawks (January 2024).
- Joel Embiid put up 70 on the Spurs (January 2024).
- Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell both hitting 71 in 2023.
Why now? It’s the three-point shot. Back in 1983, when the Pistons and Nuggets combined for 370 points, they made exactly two three-pointers. Total.
Today, teams take 40 threes a night. The math just makes it easier to skyrocket the score. If a player gets hot from deep, the ceiling disappears.
Still, nobody has really sniffed 100. Kobe got close-ish. Luka’s 73 was a masterclass. But 100 points requires a level of volume and a lack of "mercy rule" that we rarely see in the modern, sophisticated NBA.
The Regulation Record (No Overtime)
Sometimes the 370-point record feels like "cheating" because of the three overtimes. If you want to know the highest score in an nba game that ended in the standard 48 minutes, you have to look at 1990.
The Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 162-158.
320 points. No extra periods. Just 48 minutes of pure, unadulterated running and gunning.
This was the "Run TMC" era of the Warriors (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin). They didn't care about stopping you; they just knew they could outscore you.
Why These Records Might Never Fall
Records are meant to be broken, but the 186-point team total and the 100-point individual total are "statistical outliers."
To break 186, a team needs to be elite offensively, terrible defensively, and play multiple overtimes. Modern coaches are too smart for that. They’ll adjust their schemes. They’ll slow the game down.
As for Wilt’s 100? Most stars today get benched once they hit 50 or 60 in a blowout. To get to 100, you need the coach, the teammates, and even the opponents to cooperate in a very specific, almost weird way.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you want to track where the next record-breaking game might come from, keep an eye on these factors:
- Pace of Play: Look for games where both teams are in the top 5 for "Pace" (possessions per 48 minutes).
- Three-Point Volume: A team like the Celtics or Mavericks has the math on their side to push toward 160 in regulation if they hit 25+ threes.
- The "Luka" Factor: Watch high-usage superstars in games against bottom-tier defenses. That’s where the 70+ point explosions happen.
The league is currently in a scoring boom, but the ghosts of 1962 and 1983 are still holding onto the top spots. For now.