How do you win an NBA game? By scoring more points than your opponent, of course. Whether it's because of cold shooting or stifling defense, failing to hit double-digit scoring in a quarter isn't a recipe for success. This is not a revolutionary idea.
Even so, it's hard to imagine players at the NBA level being incapable of scoring. How does someone like Nikola Jokic fail to score a point in a quarter? How does a team with Jokic in uniform fail to score more than nine points in a quarter? At home!
That happened in Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder, but it's not the worst scoring performance in NBA or NBA playoff history.
Lowest-scoring quarter in NBA history: 5
The Heat and Nuggets share the unwanted distinction of having the fewest points in a quarter in NBA history.
Denver did it first, posting just five points in the third quarter of a game in November 2015. Unsurprisingly, they lost that game to the Mavericks.
Miami followed suit the same season but the following year. In April 2016, they had five points in the third quarter of a game against the Celtics. They lost that game as well.
What's the lowest-scoring quarter by a winning team?
The Heat share another distinction with the Hornets. They are the only teams in NBA history to score seven points or fewer in a quarter and win the game. Miami did it in November 2017 against the Bulls while the Hornets did it in March 2016 against the Spurs.
What's the lowest-scoring quarter by a home team?
The Trail Blazers managed only six points in the second quarter of their loss to the Raptors at home in 2017.
Lowest-scoring quarter in NBA playoffs history: 7
The 2015-16 season also produced the lowest-scoring quarter in NBA history. That belongs to the Celtics, who managed seven points in Game 2 of the first round against the Hawks. As you might guess, they lost the game.
What's the lowest-scoring quarter in the NBA playoffs by a winning team?
There have been 13 teams to score 10 or fewer points in a quarter of an NBA playoff game, including the 2025 Nuggets. Only one team has managed to pull off a victory: The 2015 Cavaliers.
It just so happens that 10-point quarter for Cleveland was a fourth quarter in a 10-point win, so scoring wasn't particularly important.
The 2017 Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls despite putting up just 11 points in the second quarter.
What's the lowest-scoring quarter in the NBA playoffs by a home team?
The Nuggets set the new low in Game 4 with eight. The previous low belonged to the 2022 Suns against the Mavericks.