When the Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings in a wild comeback behind Stephen Curry‘s 35 points, Kevin Durant‘s 33 points and Klay Thompson‘s 27 points, a few thoughts flew through my mind that I was surprised I never thought of before.
First, the modern day Run TMC (KDC?) were obviously damn close to each having 30 points on the night. Secondly, has Durant, Thompson, and Curry ever scored 30 in one game together and lastly, what’s the most points scored by three teammates in an NBA game where each has at least 30 points? We also wondered if five players from the same team have ever scored 20 points in the same game.
Welcome to my stream of consciousness.
Three Players on Same Team with 30 points in Same Game
So now that we’re too far down the well with no chance of pulling ourselves out without knowing the answer: who were the highest scoring trios where each scored at least 30 points in one NBA game?
Who were these Big Threes in NBA history? The answer is many of the trios you’d expect to see, but also many you wouldn’t. Let’s take a look at what our internet research bubbled up. Here’s the list sorted by the most-combined points with the requirement that each teammate had to have scored at least 30 points in the same game. We also included whether that game required overtimes because it’s obviously more impressive when three players accomplish 30 points within four quarters than an additional couple periods.
| Pts | Tm | Player | Player | Player | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | DET | Isiah Thomas 47 | John Long 41 | Kelly Tripucka 35 | 12/13/1983 | Three Overtimes |
| 109 | CHI | Zach LaVine 47 | Otto Porter Jr. 31 | Lauri Markkenan 31 | 03/01/2019 | 4OTs |
| 107 | NYK | Immanuel Quickley 39 | Quentin Grimes 36 | Obi Toppin 32 | 04/05/2023 | Knicks Win! |
| 105 | KCK | Otis Birdsong 39 | Scott Wedman 33 | Phil Ford 31 | 01/26/1979 | Kansas City vs. Washington Bullets |
| 103 | NYK | Richie Guerin 39 | Willie Naulls 33 | Cleveland Buckner 31 | 03/03/1962 | Same game as Wilt's 100 point game |
| 101 | MIL | Brook Lopez 39 | Giannis Antetoumkpo 31 | Damian Lillard 31 | 11/24/2023 | vs. Wizards |
| 100 | CIN | Wayne Embry 37 | Jack Twyman 32 | Oscar Robertson 31 | 02/03/1961 | Each also had 10+ rebounds but lost to Wilt's 52 points |
| 100 | POR | Isaiah Rider 35 | Brian Grant 34 | Arvydas Sabonis 31 | 11/14/1997 | Blazers lose in 4 overtimes |
| 100 | MIA | Jimmy Butler 36 | Duncan Robinson 34 | Bam Adebayo 30 | 12/10/2019 | Miami goes on 22-0 run |
| 98 | SEA | Jerry West 37 | Gail Goodrich 32 | Wilt Chamberlain 30 | 02/22/1972 | Lakers Lose at Home |
| 98 | GSW | Tim Hardaway 35 | Chris Mullin 33 | Mitch Richmond 30 | 02/26/1991 | Run TMC |
| 98 | LAC | Montrezl Harrell 34 | Paul George 32 | Lou Williams 32 | 01/05/2020 | 1 starter and 2 bench players |
| 97 | CLE | Mike Mitchell 34 | Dave Robisch 32 | Randy Smith 31 | 01/29/1980 | Who who and Randy Smith |
| 97 | LAL | Dale Ellis 37 | Xavier McDaniel 30 | Tom Chambers 30 | 02/26/1988 | Sonics Big Three go for 30+ |
| 97 | PHI | Tobias Harris 33 | Tyrese Maxey 33 | Joel Embiid 31 | 12/22/2023 | Embiid's 14th straight 30+ |
| 96 | CHI | Scottie Pippen 35 | Toni Kukoc 31 | Michael Jordan 30 | 12/17/1996 | Kukoc 31 off the bench |
| 96 | NOP | Herb Jones 35 | CJ McCollum 31 | Trey Murphy III 30 | 04/05/2023 | Ingram with 24 |
| 95 | SAC | Malik Monk 33 | De'Aaron Fox 31 | Domantas Sabonis 31 | 12/28/2022 | Light the beam! |
| 94 | MIA | LeBron James 33 | Chris Bosh 31 | Dwyane Wade 30 | 03/27/2011 | Heat trio also have 10+ rebounds |
| 94 | HOU | Kevin Martin 33 | Aaron Brooks 31 | Luis Scola 30 | 02/26/2010 | First time in Houston Rockets history |
| 91 | OKC | Russell Westbrook 31 | Kevin Durant 30 | James Harden 30 | 03/07/2012 | Info |
It wasn’t easy to compile this list as the information wasn’t readily available and it’s one of those searches that requires several words.
- highest scoring trio in one NBA game with at least 30 points
- most points scored by three teammates with 30+ points
- three players score 30 in the same game on same team
You get what we mean. Needless to say there was a lot of searching, but ince we identified the handful of these instances in NBA history, there were some expected Bog Threes, some fun blasts from the pasts and a few surprises that no one would have ever guessed.
The Highest Scoring Trios in One NBA Game (30 or more points)
The highest scoring trio of teammates in one NBA game occurred in the highest scoring game in NBA history, The game was won by the Detroit Pitons 186-184 over the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons had three players that scored over 30 points in Isiah Thomas (47), John Long (41), and Kelly Tripucka (35), but they weren’t even the highest scoring trio in that game, much less history — that went to their opponents Kiki Vandeweghe (51), Alex English (47), and Dan Issel (28).
No surprise in seeing the Miami Heat’s Big Three of LeBron, Wade and Bosh on this list or the OKC trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden. The list also reminds of a couple fun trios from the late 1980s in the Golden’s State’s Run TMC and the Sonics’ high scoring Dale Ellis, Xaiver McDaniel and Tom Chambers.
However we’re surprised we don’t see the legendary Boston front court trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Surely Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor accomplished this 30 point feat several times? Nope. The Los Angeles Lakers trio came close a few times, but there wasn’t one game in which all three scored over 30 points. What about Shaq, Kobe and Karl Malone? Nope.
In the place of those legends are some respectable threesomes that may not have been NBA all-stars, but all outperformed for one night; like when Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola went for 30+ in a game vs. Phoenix back in 2010. Then there was Knicks trio of Richie Guerin, Willie Naulls, and Cleveland Buckner that each scored 30 or more points, but were relegated to a side note in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point outburst.
Again all good players, but not one star.
After doing hours or searching and looking at box score, I think it’s safe to say that it’s not an easy feat to have three players from the same team to score 30 or more points in the same game. Even when the 1959 Boston Celtics scored 173 points on the Minneapolis Lakers, the Celtics still couldn’t get three players above 30 points. And even with three combustible players like Curry, Durant and Klay on the same team, it’s not a common
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