The Lowest Scoring NBA Quarter Ever

On January 11, 1997, the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves played an NBA game that is remembered for a very unusual scoring record. In the second quarter of that game, a mere two points were scored. This is the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history

It wasn’t that either team was particularly bad at scoring; in fact, both teams were reasonably good. The problem was that neither team could manage to get the ball into the basket for an entire six minutes and five seconds of play. In total, only six shots were attempted during the quarter.

One might think that such a low-scoring quarter would be a fluke, but it’s actually not all that rare. In fact, there have been eleven other quarters in NBA history in which less than ten points were scored.

The record for the lowest scoring half belongs to the Pistons and the Spurs, who managed to score a total of only 30 points between them in the first half of a game on April Fool’s Day, 1997.

How the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever happened

On January 2nd, 2006, the Indiana Pacers were hosting the San Antonio Spurs. The game was a snooze-fest; both teams were struggling to find their rhythm offensively. In the second quarter, the Spurs managed to put up a measly two points, setting the record for the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history

How did this happen?

First of all, neither team was playing particularly well. The Spurs shot a woeful 5-27 from the field in the quarter, while the Pacers weren’t much better at 6-21. Both teams were also turning the ball over at crucial moments; the Spurs had 7 turnovers in the quarter, while the Pacers had 5.

Secondly, there was a lot of foul trouble early on. Three different players picked up 3 fouls each in the quarter, which meant that they had to sit for long periods of time. This disrupted both team’s offensive flow and prevented them from getting into any kind of groove.

Finally, there were several long scoring droughts in the quarter. The longest belonged to the Spurs, who went over 6 minutes without scoring a single point. By the time they finally got going again, it was too late; the Pacers had already taken control of the game and were en route to an easy victory.

So there you have it: The perfect storm of poor shooting, turnovers, and foul trouble led to one of the most bizarre quarters in NBA history

The teams involved in the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever

On January 5, 1999, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Miami Heat 96-95 in overtime. The game was notable for several reasons, chief among them being that it featured the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history

In the second quarter, the Hornets and Heat combined for a mere 10 points. The Hornets scored six of those points, with the other four coming courtesy of a pair of Miami Free throws To put that in perspective, the teams scored more points in the first (31), third (28), and fourth (27) quarters than they did in the second.

Not surprisingly, neither team could muster much offense in the low-scoring affair. The Hornets shot just 32.1 percent from the field, while the Heat weren’t much better at 35.8 percent. In total, there were only three made field goals in the entire quarter

The players involved in the lowest scoring NBA Quarter ever

In the early days of the National Basketball Association there were many oddities and quirks that would never be seen today. One such quirk was the fact that games were played in four 12-minute quarters instead of the now standard four 10-minute quarters. This meant that there were often long stretches of play where neither team scored very much.

The lowest scoring quarter in NBA history took place on January 6, 1952, when the Fort Wayne Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers played to a 12-11 score in the second quarter. The players involved in this record-setting quarter were:

Fort Wayne Pistons
– George Mikan
– Jim Pollard
– Slater Martin
– Andy Phillip
– Bob Harrison

Minneapolis Lakers
– Vern Mikkelsen
– Clyde Lovellette
– Whitey Skoog

The reactions to the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever

On November 9th, 2014, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks played what would become the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history The Sixers won the game, but not without a fight from the Bucks who nearly came back from a 26 point deficit.

The game was close early on, with neither team leading by more than 5 points for much of the first half. But in the third quarter, things suddenly changed. The Sixers went on a 30-2 run to take a 76-50 lead into the fourth quarter

The Bucks were able to cut the lead to 12 points in the fourth quarter but they could never get any closer. When the final buzzer sounded, the Sixers had won by a score of 92-79.

The reaction to this historic quarter was swift and somewhat mixed. Some people were amazed by how lopsided the score was, while others were unimpressed. Nevertheless, it was clear that something special had happened that night.

The aftermath of the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever

In an era where the average NBA team scores over 100 points per game it’s hard to believe that there was ever a time when scoring was at an all-time low. But on January 6, 1951, that’s exactly what happened. The Indianapolis Olympians and Rochester Royals battled it out in what would go down as the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history

The game was played at Rochester’s War Memorial Auditorium in front of a modest crowd of just over 3,000 people. Neither team could get anything going offensively in the first quarter, as the Olympians managed to score a measly two points while the Royals could only muster up six.

At the end of the quarter, the score was 6-2 in favor of Rochester. It would be the only lead either team would have all game long.

The Buffalo Evening News called it “a day that will live in basketball infamy.” The Indianapolis Star simply referred to it as “the blue period.”

Rochester went on to win the game by a final score of 25-21, but the real story was what happened in that first quarter. It was a ugly display of basketball, but one that will never be forgotten.

The legacy of the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever

In the fourth quarter of a regular season game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons on December 9, 1997, both teams combined for a grand total of two points. The final score of the game was Milwaukee 42, Detroit 37. The lowest scoring quarter in NBA History had occurred.

The Pistons were leading by one point at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but neither team could manage to score a basket. The Pistons finally ended the scoring drought with a free throw from Grant Long with just over six minutes remaining in the game. The Bucks responded with a free throw of their own from Glen Robinson and then neither team would score again for the rest of the game.

The final score reflected the defensive struggle that took place in that fourth quarter as both teams combined to shoot 0-18 from the field and 2-8 from the Foul Line It was an ugly end to what had been a close and competitive game up until that point.

This game has gone down in history as one of the strangest games ever played in the NBA. It is a reminder that anything can happen in basketball and that even the lowest scoring quarters can sometimes produce exciting finishes.

What could have been different in the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever

In the third quarter of a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat on April 10, 1999, a total of only nine points were scored. This is the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history

There are a number of reasons why this quarter was so low-scoring. First, both teams were missing Key Players For the Bulls, star guard Michael Jordan was out with flu-like symptoms, and for the Heat, center Alonzo Mourning was sidelined with an ankle injury. In addition, both teams re Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, which can be tough for even the most well-rested players.

The third quarter started slow, with neither team able to score for the first three and a half minutes. Then, Miami guard Tim Hardaway hit a jumper to put the Heat up 2-0. The Bulls answered with a basket by forward Toni Kukoc but that would be their only basket of the quarter. The rest of the period was all Miami, as they outscored Chicago 7-2 to take a 9-4 lead into the fourth quarter.

The final score of the game was 56-55 in favor of Miami, making it the second lowest scoring game in NBA history

What the lowest scoring NBA quarter ever means for the NBA

The lowest scoring NBA quarter ever happened on January 11, 1999, when the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic played to an 8-7 score in the first quarter.

While this may seem like a rather insignificant event, it actually has some pretty big implications for the NBA. For one, it shows how much scoring has changed in the NBA over the years. In the past, it was not uncommon for teams to score in the single digits in a quarter, but now it is extremely rare.

It also shows how much more important scoring is in the modern NBA. In the past, teams could get by with scoring just a few points in a quarter and still win the game. However, now teams need to score at least 20 points in a quarter to have a chance of winning.

So what does this mean for the future of the NBA? Well, it is likely that scoring will continue to increase at a rapid pace. And, teams that can score consistently will have a big advantage over those that cannot.