Imagine paying for a ticket, grabbing a box of popcorn, and sitting down to watch the defending world champions, only to witness a game where the final score looks more like a slow Tuesday in a middle school gym. Most modern fans lose their minds if a team doesn't hit 100 points by the end of the third quarter. But on November 22, 1950, the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers played a game so excruciatingly slow it actually changed the sport forever.
The final score was 19-18. Yes, you read that right.
Total points: 37.
In today’s NBA, stars like Steph Curry or Luka Dončić sometimes put up 19 points before the first timeout. But in 1950, there was no shot clock. If you had the ball, you could keep it as long as you wanted, provided you didn't travel or double-dribble. And that’s exactly what the Pistons did to survive the greatest player of the era.
The Strategy That Nearly Killed Basketball
The Minneapolis Lakers were the 1950s version of a superteam. They had George Mikan, a 6-foot-10 giant who was essentially the first true superstar in professional basketball. To put it bluntly, nobody could stop him. He was bigger, stronger, and more skilled than anyone else on the hardwood.
Fort Wayne Pistons coach Murray Mendenhall knew his guys were outmatched. He figured if Mikan didn't have the ball, Mikan couldn't score. It’s basic math, really.
So, the Pistons decided to play "keep away."
They would win the tip-off, walk the ball to mid-court, and just... stand there. Larry Foust, the Pistons' center, would literally hold the ball on his hip and wait. The Lakers, playing a tight zone defense near the rim, refused to come out and chase them. It was a bizarre standoff. The 7,000 fans in attendance at the Minneapolis Auditorium weren't exactly thrilled. They booed. They stomped their feet. They probably questioned their life choices.
Honestly, it wasn't even basketball. It was a psychological experiment.
Breaking Down the Scoring (Or Lack Thereof)
The first quarter ended with a staggering score of 8-7. People actually thought that was "action-packed" compared to what came next. By halftime, the Lakers led 13-11. George Mikan had 12 of those 13 points. Basically, the Lakers were a one-man show, and the Pistons were doing everything in their power to make sure that show never started.
The second half was a desert.
The third quarter saw a grand total of five points scored between both teams. Entering the fourth, it was 17-16. If you’re keeping track, that is roughly one basket every few minutes.
The Final Minutes of the Lowest Scoring NBA Game
With the Lakers leading 18-17 in the final minute, the Pistons finally decided to actually try to score. With just seconds left, Larry Foust—the guy who spent most of the night acting like a statue—drove to the hoop. He heaved a little running hook shot over Mikan’s massive arms.
It went in. 19-18.
The Lakers had one last chance, but the buzzer sounded before they could get a real shot off. The Pistons walked off the court with a win, but the league walked off with a PR nightmare.
Why the 19-18 Score Matters Today
You can't talk about the lowest scoring NBA game without talking about the 24-second shot clock. This game was the "boiling point" for NBA President Maurice Podoloff. He knew that if teams kept stalling like this, the league would go bankrupt. Fans weren't going to pay to watch grown men hold a leather ball and stare at each other for 48 minutes.
Danny Biasone, the owner of the Syracuse Nationals, was the one who eventually did the math. He looked at games that were actually fun to watch and realized they averaged about 120 shots combined. He divided the 2,880 seconds in a game (48 minutes) by 120 shots and got 24 seconds.
In 1954, the shot clock was born.
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The impact was immediate. The year before the clock, teams averaged 79 points. The year after? 93 points. Within a few seasons, scores were regularly hitting triple digits. The "stall ball" era was dead, and the fast-paced, high-flying NBA we know today was born out of the boredom of a 19-18 final score.
Other Low-Scoring Anomalies
While the 1950 game is the undisputed "king" of low scores, the shot-clock era has had its own weird nights.
- The Post-Clock Record: On February 21, 1955, just after the clock was introduced, the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Hawks 62-57. It’s the lowest combined score (119) since the clock started ticking.
- The Modern Low: In 2004, the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trail Blazers combined for a pathetic 124 points (64-60).
- The 21st Century Slump: More recently, in 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers finished a game 69-65.
It’s kind of funny. In 1950, the low score was a choice. Today, it’s usually just a result of both teams having a really, really bad shooting night.
What This Means for You
If you’re a basketball fan or a student of sports history, understanding the lowest scoring NBA game gives you perspective on why the rules are the way they are. Every time you see a "shot clock violation" or a team rushing to get a shot off, you're seeing the legacy of that 19-18 disaster in Minneapolis.
The game survived because it evolved.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
- Watch the Clock: Next time you're at a game, notice how the rhythm changes when the shot clock hits 5 seconds. That urgency is the direct "fix" for the 1950 stall.
- Appreciate the Pace: Realize that even a "boring" 90-80 game today is lightyears ahead of the pre-1954 era.
- Research the Era: Look up George Mikan. The guy was so dominant they literally changed the width of the paint (the Mikan Rule) and added the shot clock just to keep him from breaking the game.
The 19-18 game wasn't just a footnote; it was the catalyst for the modern era. It proved that without a clock, the game could be "solved" by simply not playing it. Thankfully, the NBA chose to change the rules rather than let the sport fade into obscurity.