What is the highest-scoring NBA Finals game of all time?
Defenses typically get stronger during the NBA playoffs, with some of the lowest-scoring games occurring in the Finals. But some matchups go the other way and become a stream of end-to-end scores.
Sporting News provides you with all the information you need about the highest-scoring finals in NBA history.
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What is the highest-scoring NBA Finals game of all time?
The highest total in NBA Finals history is 276, as the Philadelphia 76ers used overtime to beat the San Francisco Warriors 141-135 in the first game of the 1967 NBA Finals.
The game was played at the Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and both teams all fired and scored a combined 73 points in the first quarter. Six players from the series later made it into the Hall of Fame: Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer and Chet Walker for the Sixers, and Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond for the Warriors.
Amazingly, neither team shot more than 50% from the field and this game took place well before the introduction of the 3-point line in the 1979/80 season.
Both teams fired an incredible 256 shots together (76ers 140, Warriors 116). Chamberlain is known as a stats monster, but that night he had a quiet performance on the field with just 16 points on eight shot attempts, despite catching 33 rebounds, which was the highest play value for the game. The dangerous man for the 76ers was Greer, who took the lead for Philly with 32 points.
On the other hand, Barry was the Warriors’ big man. Barry has never shied away from taking shots in his career – “The Miami Greyhound,” as he was known, scored a game-best 37 points on just under 14 of 43 (34.9%) from the field.
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The highest-scoring game since 2000 brought a total of 253 points. In Game 4 of the 2017 Finals, the Lebron James-led Cavaliers went head-to-head with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors in the highest-scoring NBA Finals game in 30 years (Lakers vs. Celtics in 1987). ).
The Cavs lost 49 points in the first quarter, setting themselves up for a Finals-record 86 first-half points.
Irving was the star of the show that day with a game-best 40 points on 15 of 26 shots, including 7 of 12 from long range. The last laugh, however, was Golden State as that would be the only game of the series the Cavs won. The Warriors won the championship in five games.
Highest Scoring Finals Games in NBA History (Combined Points)
Prior to the 2023 series, there were 75 NBA Finals series. Below are the highest scoring games in order of total points scored.
| rank | NBA Finals (Year) | Winner (Score) | loser (result) | Combined Points |
| 1. | Game 1, 1967 | 76ers (141) | Warrior (135) | 276* |
| 2. | Game 2, 1987 | Lakers (141) | Celtics (122) | 263 |
| 3. | Game 1, 1985 | Celtics (148) | Lakers (114) | 262 |
| Game 1, 1966 | Lakers (133) | Celtics (129) | 262* | |
| Game 1, 1960 | Celtics (140) | Falcons (122) | 262 |
*The game has entered overtime.