While watching this Saturday’s Clippers@Nuggets, I thought if it was even possible that a team scored 0 points during an overtime.
And now here we are! Let’s check the 2 lowest-scoring OTs in the history of the NBA in points combined. After checking those, there are two worth-mentioning extra sections, where I check if there are any 0-point overtimes.
#2 – Bullets@76ers (15/11/1975)
This game between the Washington Bullets and the Philadelphia 76ers set the record early and kept it for many years. Apart from Wes Unseld, Billy Cunningham or Elvin Hayes, you won’t probably know any other player from there.
Keeping it short, the game ended 91-91 and had three overtimes. The first ended 8-8 and went to a second overtime.
This one set the record for the lowest-scoring OT with 3-3 during 5 minutes. In the final overtime, the balance leaned towards the 76ers. They finally won 109-110.
There were many attempts throughout the year to beat this record, but it was maintained for 47 years.
You can visit the box score here.
#1 – Heat@Wizards (19/11/2022)
The Wizards managed to break their own record so many years later. But this time it had a happy ending.
The regulation game ended 104-104 thanks to a Kuzma 3-point shot with 14 seconds left. And they were just warming up for the OT.
Porzingis made a dunk a minute after starting OT. Lowry scored 2 free-throws for the Heat two minutes into OT. Right after that Kuzma scored 1 free-throw out of two, and… That was it. The lowest-scoring OT in NBA history, 2-3 for the Wizards.
- 0-8 FG for the Heat, where 6 of them were 3-pointers
- 1-6 FG for the Wizards, with 3 3-point attempts
Curiously enough, Wes Unseld Jr. was the Wizards head coach at that moment.
Hopefully we don’t have to see this record being broken, as it would mean a disaster game to watch for the fans. But I bet we will probably see it in the near future.
You can check the box score here.
EXTRA #1 – Lowest-scoring game with OT
Pacers@Hornets, 18th January 2015. Probably a freezing day in Charlotte. 7pm and everything is ready for another great day of basketball.
This is easily one of the worst games in NBA history. The regular time ended with a cataclysmic 68-68, but the overtime didn’t improve it by a bit.
After a gigantic 5-minute performance, the Hornets scored 12 points versus the 3 scored by the Pacers. With a final score of 71-80, adding up to 151 points in total, a new record is set. The lowest scoring game in NBA history with OT included.
Just for fun, let’s check some of the team stats for the game, in the Pacers vs. Hornets format:
- FG%: 30-84 (35.7%) vs 31-101 (30.7%)
- 3PT%: 2-21 (9.5%) vs 2-15 (13.3%)
- FT% – No team went above 70%
- Only 5 players scored 10 or more points from both teams
A game not to remember.
EXTRA #2 – O points in OT?
Is this even possible? YES!
There’s a count around the Internet that says this has happened 9 times. Many of these seem to be not documented. One is from 1983 (Rockets vs. Blazers and another is from a rare case. But there are two recent cases. Let’s check them!
November 7, Chicago, 2015. Wolves@Bulls. Just the 8th game for the Bulls and the 6th for the Timberwolves. The season has just started and… we go to overtime in Chicago!
But Chicago didn’t really attend overtime… 9 field goald attempts – 7 of them 3-pointers – 2 turnovers, 4 personal fouls… Neither Jimmy Butler in his post-breakout season nor post-prime Derrick Rose were able to save them.
0 points were scored in 5 minutes by the Bulls. Not even their two substitutions were able to make a single shot.
In the meantime, Nemanja Bjelica scored 2 FT (free throws) and Ricky Rubio added 1 to the count. With these and some 2-pointers by Towns, Tayshaun Prince and Bjelica, the Wolves were ahead 9-0 in overtime while the Bulls set a unique record.
Check out the OT box score here.
December 24, 2009. Cavs@Kings. Triple-double by LeBron James -34/16/10 – in his pure prime, versus a bad Kings roster that ended 25-57 in that season.
After 48 minutes, the game went to overtime with 104-104 in the scoreboard. But Zydrunas Ilgauskas decided he wanted him and his team to go home early, scoring 3-3 3-pointers (2 of them from assists by LeBron, granting him the triple-double), getting 3 rebounds and 1 block.
In the meantime, the Kings went 0-7 FG with 0-3 3P. They struggled offensively and didn’t have any chance defensively. The only thing they won in OT was the jump ball and the disappointment from that day’s fans.
You can find the box score here.
It was really interesting to dig into weird stats like these. OTs are usually breath-taking, but sometimes they are record-breaking – in a bad way.
Let me know if you want me to break down any other weird team or player stats in the comments!
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