Most Points Scored in a Quarter in Basketball

While many basketball players can score a lot within one quarter, a few have distinguished themselves by putting up massive point totals in a single quarter of play. Notably, Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant, who have the most 20-point quarters in NBA history, would be at the top of that list. In order to score the most points in a quarter, however, one needs to be on a different level than even the all-time greats.

The player who happened to be on that level was Steph Curry’s teammate, Klay Thompson, who scored 37 points in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings in January of 2015. For a team to score 37 points in a quarter on its own is great, but to have those points scored by one player is simply phenomenal. The most points scored by a team in one quarter were the whopping 58 points scored by the Buffalo Braves in the fourth quarter of a 1972 matchup against the Boston Celtics.

Most Points in an NBA Quarter by a Player

The most points scored in one quarter by a single player were the 37 points scored by Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson against the Sacramento Kings in 2015. Thompson is known for his brilliant three-point shooting, and for his connection with teammates Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Notably, Thompson holds the record for most three-pointers made in one game, at 14. He did that in just three quarters. He also had a 60-point game while only dribbling 11 times. While these are amazing, they still might not be as great as his perfect quarter, in which he shot 13 for 13 and hit nine threes, equaling 37 points.

The player to score the second-highest number of points in a quarter is Kevin Love. This happened during the first quarter of a game between Love’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016. He scored 34 points in that quarter, which is the most points in the first quarter by a player all time.

Most Points In A College Basketball Half

Unlike the NBA, college basketball plays two halves instead of the normal four quarters that most other basketball leagues play. This normally keeps games close, but in 1992, Troy State University did something that has not been done since. They set both the single-game scoring record and the record for the most points in one half by scoring 135 points in a half and 258 total for the game. The leading scorer for Troy State that game was Terry McCord, with 41 points. The most points by a collegiate player in one half is 80 by Jack Taylor. He himself holds many NCAA records, such as most points in a game, most field goals attempted and made, and most three-point field goals attempted and made.

Most Points In A High School Basketball Quarter

As per MHSAA, the highest-scoring total for one quarter in high school basketball was 32 points scored by Larry Fogle in 1972. This took place during the second quarter of that game, which quarters normally last eight minutes. This makes this total even more impressive as it is only 67% of an average NBA quarter. Since high school basketball is not heavily documented, especially at lower levels, records might not be exact.

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