Top 10 Biggest Blowouts in NBA History
Losing a game is already disappointing, but being blown out makes the loss even more painful.
For example, in the 2016-2017 NBA Playoffs, every team besides the Cleveland Cavaliers was blown away by the Golden State Warriors. The Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs lost 0-4 against the Warriors while the Cavaliers lost 1-4.
In terms of an individual game, a blowout, in my opinion, is when a team loses a game by more than twenty or more points. However, there have been instances where teams have lost by thirty, forty, even FIFTY points!
This year, THREE teams lost a game by FIFTY or more points!
May 1st, 2021: Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - 152-95 (57 Points)
April 2nd, 2021: Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors - 130-77 (53 Points)
December 27th, 2020: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers - 124-73 (51 Points)
What's insane is that there are actually A LOT of games with an EVEN HIGHER margin of victory! Today, we'll be going over ten of the biggest blowouts in NBA history!
If you're only interested in THE biggest blowout in NBA history, the biggest blowout in NBA history was on December 17th, 1991, between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat lost 80-148, a 68 POINT MARGIN OF VICTORY!
If the Cavaliers scored twelve more points, they would have won by twice the amount of points the Heat had!
However, if you are interested in learning more about each blowout and player stats, you should continue reading!
Table of Contents:
55 Points: Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns
Two teams take the spot for the tenth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: 112-57
On January 11th, 2011, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 112-57. This was the season right after Lebron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Shaquille O' Neal left the Cavaliers. Literally the top three best players on the Cavaliers during that time. The Cavaliers were the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers had the underrated duo of pre-Achillies Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Obviously, this was not an 'underrated duo,' but people tend to think of Kobe and Shaq instead. While the Cavs were the worst, the Lakers were the second-best team in the Western Conference.
In the game, the ONLY player to score more than ten points on the Cavaliers was Alonzo Gee. Gee, who average 6.6 points throughout his career, scored twelve points that game (wow, that's a lot)! Manny Harris, who played 42 MINUTES that game, only scored 8 points and had a box score of -57...
Surprinslgy, the Lakers didn't actually have a single-player score of more than fifteen points. However, unlike the Cavaliers, SEVEN Lakers players had more than twelve points that game:
Andrew Bynum (15)
Metta World Peace (15)
Kobe Bryant (13)
Pau Gasol (13)
Lamar Odom (13)
Shannon Brown (13)
To put into perspective how LOW 57 POINTS is, FIFTEEN teams scored 57 POINTS by halftime this season!
Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings: 140-85
On April 17th, 1989, the Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings, 140-85. During that season, the Suns were the third-best team in the Western Conference, while the Kings were the tenth-best.
It wasn't surprising that the Suns were able to score 140 POINTS as they had the second-best offensive rating (113.1) and led the lead in points per game (118.6). Also, the Suns had FOUR All-Stars while the Kings only had ONE! If the Kings had gone against the Suns from the previous season (1987-88), the Kings have actually won since the Suns sucked that season (28-54).
To be honest, I'm more interested in the players on the Sacramento Kings than the actual blowout. The Kings had Kenny Smith, Danny Ainge, and... Michael Jackson?
As for the game itself, the Kings honestly didn't do THAT bad. The Suns were just going crazy. SIX Suns players scored more than 15 POINTS in the game.
Eddie Johnson (24)
Tom Chambers (20)
Armen Gilliam (19)
Kevin Johnson (17)
Dan Majere (16)
Jeff Hornaeck (15)
56 Points: Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics, and the Sacramento Kings
SIX teams take the spot for the ninth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics, and the Sacramento Kings!
Since there are so many teams, these won't be AS in-depth just because it would take forever.
Also, since six teams tie for the ninth biggest blowout in NBA history, I'll include a Table of Contents here as well:
Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls: 133-77
On December 8th, 2018, the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 133-77. It wasn't surprising that the Bulls did as bad as they did since their only (somewhat) star player was Zach Lavine, and he wasn't even the best player for the Bulls that game!
The Celtics had SEVEN players that scored more than ten points:
Jaylen Brown (23)
Daniel Theis (22)
Jayson Tatum (18)
Terry Rozier (15)
Semi Ojeleye and Kyrie Irving (13)
Marcus Morris (12)
What's funny is that Guerschon Yabusele, who only played fifteen minutes and scored two points and three assists, had an offensive rating of 179!
On the other hand, the Bulls only had THREE players that scored more than ten points. What's even worse is that the Bulls' leading scorer was Shaquille Harrison. Harrison scored 20 POINTS and, during that season, only averaged 6.5 points. Ryan Arcidiacono, who played twenty minutes that game, scored ZERO POINTS.
Seattle Supersonics vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 149-93
On March 6th, 1993, the Seattle Supersonics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 149-93. Similar to the Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings game, the 76ers did not do that bad. It was just that the Supersonics were killing it.
The Supersonics had SEVEN players that scored more than ten points:
Eddie Johnson (21)
Shawn Kemp (20)
Ricky Pierce (19)
Derrick McKey (18)
Dana Barros (15)
Vincent Askew (14)
Nate McMillan (10)
Surprisingly, the Supersonics' best player, Gary Payton, scored the least amount of points that game. Although he is more well known for his defense, five points is nowhere near how much Payton typically averages.
It's actually kind of impressive that the 76ers even got 93 points since the Supersonics had the second-best defensive rating. In addition, the top two leading scorers for the 76ers were rookie Clarence Weatherspoon (16) and Eddie Lee Wilkins (16), who averaged six points that season.
Sacramento Kings vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 154-98
On January 2nd, 1993, the Sacramento Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 154-98. To add insult to injury, once again, the 76ers lose by 56 POINTS just two months after losing by 56 POINTS. That's not even the worst part.
The Supersonics were the third-best team in the Western Conference, so it's only kind of surprising that the 76ers lost by 56. However, the Kings were the THIRD-WORST team in the Western Conference. The 76ers should have at least put up a fight, but nope... they lost by 56.
Once again, the Kings had SEVEN players that scored more than ten points. I won't list them all like with the last game, but a major reason why the 76ers lost by that much was Walt Williams.
Williams, who throughout his career, averaged 11.8 points, dropped 40 POINTS in the game against the 76ers. Not only did he score a ton, but he was playing amazing defense as well. Williams recorded four steals and four blocks that game!
Another interesting thing to point out is that the Kings had Spud Webb while the 76ers had Manute Bol. The shortest player in NBA history was playing against the tallest player in NBA history. What's even more interesting is that Webb, who is 5'3," OUTREBOUNDED Bol, who is 7'7." Webb had seven rebounds while Bol only had two...
Seattle Supersonics vs. Houston Rockets: 136-80
On December 6th, 1986, the Seattle Supersonics beat the Houston Rockets, 136-80. Once again, the Supersonics are back on here for beating another team by 56 points. However, this was seven seasons before the Supersonics game against the 76ers, so the team was somewhat different.
Like the Sacramento Kings vs. Philadelphia 76ers game, it was surprising that the Supersonics were able to beat the Rockets by 56 points because the Supersonics were the SEVENTH seed in the Western Conference while the Rockets were the FIFTH.
The Rockets should not have lost by this much. They lost by this much because their star player, and arguably, one of the best Centers in NBA history, Hakeem Olajuwon, was not playing that game. The teams' next best player, Ralph Sampson, also had a really disappointing game, only scoring ten points.
Fun Fact: the Supersonics had a player named Michael Phelps, who scored nine points that game! He was only in the league for three seasons.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Jazz: 158-102
On March 14th, 1979, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New Orleans Jazz, 158-102. You know this game is old if the New Orleans were known as the New Orleans Jazz and not the New Orleans Hornets or Pelicans.
I don't have much to say about this game because it was so long ago. In addition, the winning team, the Bucks, literally don't have a single player that I know.
Every player on the Bucks played well. Only two Bucks players scored less than two points, Quinn Buckner (known for his defense) and Kevin Restani (who wasn't that good).
The Jazz would have won, but they were missing two of their three best players. 5x All-Star Pete Maravich and Spencer Haywood were not playing. The only star playing for the Jazz was Gail Goodrich, and he didn't have the best game (17 Points on 29.2 FG%).
Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trailblazers: 130-74
On February 20th, 1976, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trailblazers, 130-74. This was probably one of the biggest upsets, considering how big the blowout was. The Chicago Bulls were the WORST team in the Western Conference, while the Portland Trailblazers were the THIRD WORST team.
What also makes this the biggest upset is that the Chicago Bulls had the worst offensive rating in the league (95.2). They also scored the least amount of points per game (95.9). The Trailblazers were not the best offensive team, but they were pretty good on defense, so, surprisingly, they let the Bulls beat them by 56!
Like the Bucks vs. Jazz game, the huge blowout could be attributed to a missing star player. For the Trailblazers, they were missing their BEST player, Bill Walton. Without Walton, the Trailblazers were missing their defensive anchor.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors: 126-70
On April 21st, 1973, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 126-70. This game was during the Western Conference Finals, and the Lakers had already beat the Lakers in Games 1 and 2. However, in Game 1, the Lakers only won by two points. In Game 2, they won in nine points, but in Game 3... 56 Points???
This doesn't have to do with one team being better than the other. They were both in the Conference Finals; they were obviously good teams. The Warriors also had good players: Nate Thurmond, Rick Barry, Jeff Mullins, Jim Barnett.
The Warriors just sucked ass this game. Out of ELEVEN PLAYERS, only ONE Warriors player scored ten points (Rick Barry). To add insult to injury, besides George Johnson and Charles Johnson, every player on the team shot less than 25% from the field...
Rick Barry (4/18)
Jim Barnett (2/10)
Joe Ellis (1/6)
Walt Hazzard (1/12)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons: 144-88
On November 12th, 1966, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 144-88. Once again, the Lakers beat another team by 56 POINTS. Neither team was that good; it's just that the Pistons were REALLY NOT GOOD. The Pistons had the worst offensive rating (90.9) and the least points per game (111.3).
The Pistons lost as much as they did because Jerry West went nuts this game. West had 35 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 11 Assists and shot 77.8% from the field and 100% from the free-throw line. On the other hand, Ray Scott THOUGHT he was Jerry West and attempted 18 FIELD GOALS while only knocking down THREE.
Holy Crap, that was a lot...
57 Points: Indiana Pacers
Only one team takes the spot for the eighth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Indiana Pacers. I talked about this one earlier briefly, so this won't take up to much space.
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (152-95)
On May 1st, 2021, the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 152-95. This was the most recent blowout in NBA history that broke the Top 10. It wasn't surprising that the OKC Thunder were the ones that would be blown out since they were 14th in the Western Conference, just started their rebuild, and were missing their best player, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander.
It was more surprising that the Indiana Pacers were the ones to blow out the OKC Thunder. The Pacers were the most average team. They were 14th in offensive rating (112.4) and 13th in defensive rating (112.4). The Pacers weren't even a playoff team.
The Pacers were able to blowout the Thunder because Doug McDermott decided to transform into Steph Curry. McDermott, who averaged 13.6 points in the 2020-2021 NBA season, dropped 31 points and shot 78.6% from the field and 75% from the three. Besides McDermott, Domantas Sabonis, the Pacers' star player, put up Hall of Famer numbers. Sabonis had:
26 Points, 19 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 1 Steal
76.9 FG%, 66.7 3P%, 66.7 FT%
29 Minutes
What's insane is that Sabonis only played 29 MINUTES that game. During the 2020-2021 NBA season, Sabonis played, on average, 36 MINUTES per game. If he played for another seven points, Sabonis could have potentially gotten a 20/20/20 triple-double!
On the other hand, besides Moses Brown, the starting lineup shot horribly for the OKC Thunder.
Charlie Brown (30%)
Darius Bazley (23.5%)
Theo Maledon (14.3%)
Isaiah Roby (12.5%)
58 Points: Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Minneapolis Lakers
FOUR teams take the spot for the seventh-biggest blowout in NBA history, the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, and Minneapolis Lakers.
Like with the ninth biggest blowouts in NBA history, since four teams tie for the seventh biggest blowout in NBA history, I'll include a Table of Contents here as well:
Denver Nuggets vs. New Orleans Hornets (121-63)
On April 27th, 2009, the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets, 121-63. This, in my opinion, was one of the more interesting games because it was basically Chris Paul vs. Carmelo Anthony. Obviously, Carmelo won by a landslide.
The Hornets played this game horribly. This was during the Western Conference First Round, and the series was already 2-1 in favor of the Nuggets. In the losses before this MONSTROUS loss, the Hornets were actually blown out in both games as well. In Game 1, the Hornets lost by 29 (84-113), and in Game 2, they lost by 15 (93-108). In the game that the Hornets did win, they only won by two points (93-95).
The Denver Nuggets had SEVEN players that scored more than ten points. For some reason, it's always seven players that score more than ten points...
The leading scorer was, you guessed it, Carmelo Anthony. He scored 26 points and shot 52.9% from the field and 66.7% from the three.
On the other hand, everybody on the Hornets sucked. Besides David West and James Posey, everybody shot less than 33.3% from the field. Chris Paul, their star player, only scored four points on 2/7 shooting.
Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks (139-81)
On December 29th, 1992, the Sacramento Kings beat the Dallas Mavericks, 139-81. There isn't much to say about this game. The Dallas Mavericks were a trash team. They had the worst offensive (99.5) and defensive rating (114.7) and ended the season with the worst regular-season record (11-71). It makes sense that they lost by this much.
The reason why the Kings were able to blow out the Mavericks was due to their role players. Almost every role player played like an All-Star in this game.
Anthony Bonner: 23 Points, 11 Rebounds, 4 Assists
Walt Williams: 20 Points, 9 Rebounds
Rod Higgins: 16 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Lionel Simmons: 14 Points, 6 Rebounds, 5 Assists
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Sacramento Kings (140-82)
On December 15th, 1985, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Sacramento Kings, 140-82. Look at how the tables have turned... but then again, this was seven years before the Kings would beat the Mavericks by 58 points.
Like the game between the Kings and Mavericks, the Bucks beat the Kings by THIS MUCH because the role players turned into All-Stars. The Bucks' best player, Sidney Moncrief, was probably the worst player in that game. He missed every field goal and only hit his free throws. I guess all his skills went to every other Bucks player that game.
This time, not SEVEN, but EIGHTY players scored more than ten points:
Terry Cummings (21)
Craig Hodges, Jerry Reynolds, Charles Davis (15)
Ricky Pierce (14)
Kenny Fields (11)
Jeff Lamp and Randy Breuer (10)
Funnily enough, the player with the best offensive rating in this game was no one listed above. Paul Pressey had an offensive rating of 217! Although he didn't score that many points, he still put up:
9 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 5 Steals
2/2 FG, 5/5 FT
21 Minutes
On the other hand, LaSalle Thompson had the lowest offensive rating in the game. His offensive rating was 13... How the hell is that even possible.
Minneapolis Lakers vs. St. Louis Hawks (133-75)
On March 19th, 1956, the Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks, 133-75. You know this game is old if the Lakers were in Minneapolis and the Hawks were in St. Louis. This game is so old that the only stats available are points, field goals, and free throws.
This was probably the fairest matchup out of every game listed so far. Both teams ended with a 33-39 regular-season record. While the Lakers had the fourth-best offensive rating and seventh-best defensive rating, the Hawks had the seventh-best offensive rating and the third-best defensive rating.
The Lakers were able to beat the Hawks by this much because EVERYBODY player their part. For the first time, EVERY PLAYER scored at LEAST 10 POINTS. On the other hand, the Hawks only had TWO players that scored at least ten points.
This was also during the Western Division Semifinals. Although the Lakers beat the Hawks by 58, in the end, the Hawks had the last laugh as they advanced to the next round.
59 Points: Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors
From here on out, the biggest blowouts in NBA history are either between two teams or just one. Thank god because my fingers are hurting from all this typing...
TWO teams take the spot for the sixth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Detroit Pistons (143-84)
On December 26th, 1978, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 143-84. If you remember, this game was actually two months before the Bucks would beat the New Orleans Jazz by 56. Like that game, every Bucks player played well.
Every player besides John Gialleni, Lloyd Walton, and Norm Van Lier scored more than ten points. Three players, Kevin Restani, Ernie Grunfeld, and Junior Bridgeman (dope name), scored more than twenty points! As a whole, the Bucks shot 60.7% from the field while the Pistons shot 41.7%.
I wish I could add more, but I literally don't know any of the players on either team. The Pistons' only good player, Bob Lanier, only played thirteen minutes that game. Within those thirteen minutes, he only had two points, a rebound and a block.
Golden State Warriors vs. Indiana Pacers (150-91)
On March 19th, 1977, the Golden State Warriors beat the Indiana Pacers, 150-91. By this game, the Golden State Warriors were 40-31, and the Indiana Pacers were 30-41, so that's interesting, I guess. Besides that, the Warriors players went crazy. Each player besides Gus Williams and Phil Smith contributed to this monstrous blowout.
It's kind of interesting how Gus Williams and Phil Smith were the two players that contributed the least since they were two of the four All-Stars on the team. Williams and Smith only scored two points.
On the other hand, the Warriors' bench completely went off. Every player on the bench scored more than ten points. Sonny Parker, who was only in the league for six seasons, put up:
20 Points, 9 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 4 Steals
69.2 FG%, 100 FT%
25 Minutes
As for the Pacers, their starting lineup didn't even do that bad. Each starter had more than ten points and shot above 40% from the field. On the other hand, the Pacers' bench was just not as good as the Warriors. The Pacers bench in total had 23 points. The Warriors bench, in total, had 93 POINTS! The Warriors bench alone scored more than the Pacers team!
61 Points: Charlotte Hornets
Only one team takes the spot for the fifth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Charlotte Hornets. We're halfway done! This is also our first 60+ point blowout!
Charlotte Hornets vs. Memphis Grizzlies (140-79)
On March 22nd, 2019, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 140-79. This was a battle of two bad teams. The Charlotte Hornets were the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference, and the Memphis Grizzlies were the fourteenth seed in the Western Conference.
For some reason, when I look at the box score for this game, it doesn't seem like there's a 61 point margin of victory. The only player in this game that actually did well was Kemba Walker. Walker had:
46 Points, 4 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 1 Steal
72.2 FG%, 71.4 3P%, 100 FT%
28 Minutes
Otherwise, everybody, including the Hornets player, played how they typically played. I'll attach the link to the box score because it honestly does not look like there was that big of a gap compared to the other games I've covered. The Hornets didn't even have their second-best player, Dwight Howard.
By halftime, the Hornets had already scored 79 points, the number of points that the Grizzlies would score for the entire game.
The huge blowout probably has to do with the Grizzlies' shitty team. Only three players on that team are still in the NBA: Dillon Brooks, JaMychal Green, and Ben McLemore.
62 Points: Golden State Warriors and the Syracuse Nationals
TWO teams take the spot for the fourth biggest blowout in NBA history, the Golden State Warriors and the Syracuse Nationals.
Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings (153-91)
On November 2nd, 1991, the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 153-91. The most interesting part about this game was that I found a player named "Sarunas Marciulionis." Probably not as good as Michael Jackson or Michael Phelps, but still a pretty cool name.
As for the game, the Golden State Warriors were just killing it. This is the first blowout where four players scored more than twenty points!
Chris Mullin (32)
Victor Alexander (28)
Sarunas Marciulionis (27)
Tyrone Hill (20)
Victor Alexander's performance was the most surprising. He was in his rookie year and was averaging:
7.4 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 0.4 Assists, 0.6 Steals, and 0.8 Blocks
52.9 FG%, 69.1 FT%
16.9 Minutes
But in this game, he got to play 42 minutes and really showed off what he could do:
28 Points, 16 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 4 Steals, and 1 Block
10/13 FG, 8/9 FT
42 Minutes
Even though most of the Warriors played well, Mario Ellie, who played twenty minutes and only scored two points, had an offensive rating of 67. 8/11 Kings' players had higher offensive ratings, and they were on the team that lost by 62 points.
Syracuse Nationals vs. New York Knicks (162-100)
On December 25th, 1960, the Syracuse Nationals beat the New York Knicks, 162-100. Out of the 20 players that played this game, I only know two of them, Dolph Schayes and Dick Barnett. Both teams played pretty well. It's just that the Nationals played REALLY WELL.
Every player besides Swede Halbrook had more than ten points. Two players had more than twenty points, five players had more than fifteen points, and two had more than ten points.
While the Nationals had 65 field goals, the Knicks almost took half the field goals (34). Besides that, there isn't much to say about these two teams. During the season, the Nationals averaged 121.3 points per game which is pretty insane. This season (2020-2021), there isn't a single team with more than 121.3 points per game.
63 Points: Los Angeles Lakers
Only one team takes the spot for the third biggest blowout in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers. From here on out, the biggest blowouts in NBA History are held by ONE team.
Los Angles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors (162-99)
On March 19th, 1972, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 162-99. This is the fifth time the Lakers have appeared in one of our biggest blowout entries. It wasn't that surprising that the Lakers won by THIS much because they did end up being the Champions this season.
However, it was surprising that it was against the Warriors. The Warriors were the fourth seed in the West and had the fourth-best defensive rating (94.9).
This number always appears, but SEVEN Lakers players scored more than FIFTEEN points this game.
There are many notable Lakers players in this game: Jim McMillan, Happy Hariston, Gail Goodrich, Jerry West, and Pat Riley. They all played amazing this game, and all of them scored 15+ points. However, the ONLY player to score 100 POINTS in a game, Wilt Chamberlain, had one of the worst performances.
Chamberlain didn't just have the worst performance in this game, but this could be one of his worst performances throughout his career. He had:
10 Points, 10 Rebounds, 6 Assists
83.3 FG%
25 Minutes
This is a pretty decent stat line for your normal NBA player, but this was WILT CHAMBERLAIN. This is the same player that averaged 50 POINTS and 26 REBOUNDS in a season. In his defense, this was nearing the end of his career, and he was already 35. Still, during this season (1971-72), he was averaging:
14.8 Points, 19.2 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists
64.9 FG%, 42.2 FT%
42.3 Minutes
As for the Warriors, they honestly didn't play THAT bad. SIX players had more than ten points this game. However, everybody besides Jim Barnett and Bob Portman shot horribly. Nate Thurmond, one of the best (and underrated) bigs, shot 23.5% from the field and only had nine rebounds. This was someone who averaged 15 rebounds in his career.
65 Points: Indiana Pacers
We're getting close... Only one team takes the spot for the second biggest blowout in NBA history, the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana Pacers vs. Portland Trailblazers (124-59)
On February 27th, 1998, the Indiana Pacers beat the Portland Trailblazers, 124-59. Like the game between the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies, when you look at the box score for this game, it doesn't feel like the margin of victory is THIS WIDE. It probably has to do with the fact that not a single Pacers' player had more than twenty points this game.
This loss had more to do with the Trailblazers sucking than the Pacers playing well. No important players for the Trailblazers were missing. The Trailblazers had the eighth-best defensive rating (102.4), so god knows how they let the Pacers score 124 points on them.
By the end of the second quarter, the Pacers already had 59 points, the same amount of points the Trailblazers would end with. Also, this is the only game here where the winning team won by MORE THAN TWICE the amount of points the opposing team had.
Again, there were no crazy performances on the Pacers. In fact, most of the star players underperformed. Reggie Miller had ten points, Rik Smits had twelve points, and Chris Mullin had ten points.
The reason why the Pacers' won by as much as they did was because of how efficiently they shot the ball. As a team, they shot 63.6% from the field and 60% from the three. On the other hand, the Trailblazers shot 33.3% from the field and 17.6% from the three. They even shot horribly from the free-throw line (42.1%).
THREE PACERS PLAYERS shot 0% from the FIELD:
Brian Grant (0/6)
Carlos Rogers (0/2)
Rick Brunson (0/2)
Brian Grant played so horribly that his offensive rating was an EIGHT! You could literally stand on the court for forty-two minutes without recording a single stat and still have a better offensive rating than EIGHT!
Now... finally, the biggest blowout in NBA history.
68 Points: Cleveland Cavaliers
The biggest blowout in NBA history goes to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Funny how the first entry had the Cleveland Cavaliers being blown out by 55 points, and now they're back as the team with the biggest blowout in NBA history.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat (148-80)
On December 17th, 1991, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat, 148-80. Twenty years later, and the Cavaliers still hold the record for the biggest blowout in NBA history. The Miami Heat were straight-up garbage this game. They weren't even missing a star player; they just sucked.
I usually don't like to shit on players, but the main reason for the Heats' disastrous 68 point loss has to do with Bimbo Coles. Coles would have a long fourteen-year career, and he was a pretty good backup point guard. However, this might be one of the worst performances I've seen by a player ever.
Bimbo Cole had:
0 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal
0/8 FG, 0/1 3P
23 Minutes
Now... this doesn't look as bad as Tony Snell's infamous 0/0/0/0/0 game, but it is.
First off, I'll start with a compliment. He had a lot of rebounds for a 6'1" point guard. I'm actually confused that he was able to grab that many rebounds. In his career, he only averaged 2.1 rebounds. In addition, in this game, Cole grabbed 4 offensive rebounds. This is a player that averaged 0.6 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS throughout his career.
Honestly, besides his rebounding, everything else he did was NOT GOOD. How do you manage to go 0/8 from the field? In that season (1991-92), Coles averaged 45.5% from the field on eight field-goal attempts. At least hit one?
Not only did he shoot horribly, but he had SEVEN TURNOVERS and SIX PERSONAL FOULS. HOW? He had more turnovers and personal fouls than points, assists, steals, and blocks... Coles had a turnover percentage of 46.7%! That basically means that for EVERY TWO POSSESSIONS, he would have ONE TURNOVER!
I don't want to just grill Bimbo Coles because it wasn't entirely his fault. EVERYBODY played badly. Keith Askins played almost as bad as Coles. Askins had:
5 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block
2/11 FG, 1/5 3P
25 Minutes
Askins also shot HORRIBLY, but at least he had five points? He also had three turnovers and four personal fouls...
Steve Smith, the second-best player on the team, was the only player actually to put up DECENT numbers. He had:
15 Points, 1 Rebound, 3 Assists, 3 Steals
7/13 FG, 1/3 3P, 0/2 FT
20 Minutes
The best player on the team, Glen Rice, played horribly. He had:
9 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists
3/8 FG, 3/3 3P
23 Minutes
Now... I mention these two because they are the Heat's best two players. Since they are the best two players... WHY ARE THEY ONLY PLAYING TWENTY MINUTES? Glen Rice and Steven Smith had fewer minutes than Bimbo Coles and Keith Askins! WTF?
Okay... let's talk about the team that actually blew out the Heat, the Cavaliers. Like the Pacers, no one actually exceeded expectations. Everybody was just average! Five players had more than fifteen points, and three players had more than ten points!
Even if some players didn't exceed expectations, they at least shot efficiently. Larry Nance, who was probably the SECOND best player on the team, only had nine points, but he shot 50% from the field and didn't turn over the ball.
It's actually kind of crazy how efficiently most of the Cavaliers' players were. Mark Price, who was the star of the Cavs, only played SEVENTEEN minutes but still had:
18 Points, 3 Rebounds, 11 Assists
8/10 FG, 2/2 3P
Henry James, who in that season, only averaged 6.4 points in 13.3 minutes per game, turn over had:
17 Points, 8 Rebounds, 1 Assist
7/14 FG, 1/4 3P
