I got curious about the lowest scoring quarter in NBA history last night while rewatching some old playoff highlights. Grabbed my laptop around 1 AM thinking this would be quick – just check Wikipedia or something. Boy, was I wrong.
The Hunt Begins
Started punching “NBA lowest quarter score” into Google expecting instant answers. Got flooded with modern stats instead – like teams scoring 8 points recently. Felt fishy cause I remember 90s games being brickfests. Refined search to “NBA historic low score quarter” and finally hit gold: ESPN’s archive section.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Scrolled through pages of forum posts debating scores from 70s games when basketball looked like rugby. Kept seeing two numbers pop up: 2 points by Utah against Dallas in 2002, and 1 point by Golden State against Lakers in 1997. My BS detector pinged hard. Two points? Possible. One point? Gotta be myth.
Pulled up NBA’s official stats database (free version – ain’t paying for that subscription). Sifted through box scores manually like a caveman scrolling microfilm:
- Found that Utah-Dallas 2002 quarter – yeah, Jazz scored 2 points in third quarter
- But Lakers-Warriors 1997? Golden State got ZERO in fourth quarter?! No way
Verification Nightmare
Checked Basketball Reference, three different Warriors fan sites, even dug up a scanned newspaper snippet. All said same damn thing: November 2, 1997, Lakers vs Warriors, fourth quarter scoreboard showed 2-0. But official box score? Listed as 0-0 for Warriors cause their only bucket got waved off by lane violation. So technically:
- Worst modern quarter: Utah’s 2 points
- All-time worst: Warriors scoring ZERO
Mind Blown
Sat there staring at screen imagining grown men playing 12 minutes without scoring. Watched the quarter on YouTube later – pure torture basketball. Guys airballing layups, shot clock violations back to back. Felt weirdly proud discovering basketball’s equivalent of finding Bigfoot.
