5 largest margins of victory in NBA history

The OKC Thunder made NBA history on Thursday, crushing the Portland Trail Blazers 139-77 at home. The Thunder’s 62-point win put them in a three-way tie for the league’s fifth-largest margin of victory. Additionally, the dominant performance marked OKC’s largest win in franchise history.

The Thunder blew their previous highest victory margin of 45 points out of the water, surpassing it by 17 points. Per ESPN, the franchise won by 45 points twice in the 2012-13 season.

On the flip side, the Blazers’ 62-point loss marked their second-largest defeat in franchise history. They are now the only team with two 60-plus point losses.

OKC shot 53-for-93 (57.0%), while Portland shot just 28-for-101 (27.7%), marking nearly a 30% disparity in field goal percentage.

The Thunder also had six players score in double figures, led by a game-high 31 points from superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Blazers, meanwhile, only had two double-digit scorers, led by shooting guard Anfernee Simons’ 14 points.

After the game, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups offered a blunt assessment of his team’s nightmare outing.

“It was almost like a perfect storm, to be honest with you,” Billups said. "Nothing really worked for us.”

Despite seemingly everything going wrong for Portland, teams have still fared worse on four other occasions. On that note, below are the five largest victory margins in NBA history:

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5 biggest victory margins in NBA history

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#T5 62 points (OKC Thunder, Syracuse Nationals and Golden State Warriors)

As mentioned above, OKC’s 62-point win over Portland on Thursday tied two other teams for the fifth-largest victory margin ever.

The Syracuse Nationals were the first team to win by 62 points, beating the New York Knicks 162-100 at home on Dec. 25, 1960. The Nationals were led by a game-high 24 points apiece from forward Dave Gambee and franchise legend Hal Greer.

Additionally, the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings by 62 (153-91) at home on Nov. 2, 1991. The Warriors were led by a game-high 32 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals on 68.2% shooting from franchise legend Chris Mullin.

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#4 63 points (LA Lakers)

Ranking fourth all-time with a 63-point victory margin is the LA Lakers. LA defeated the Golden State Warriors 162-99 at home on Mar. 19, 1972.

The Lakers were led by a game-high 30 points and seven assists on 64.7% shooting from franchise legend Gail Goodrich.

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#3 65 points (Indiana Pacers)

Coming in third is the Indiana Pacers with a 65-point victory margin. Indiana blew out the Portland Trail Blazers 124-59 at home on Feb. 27, 1998.

The Pacers were led by a game-high 18 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four 3-pointers on 75.0% shooting from star point guard Mark Jackson.

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#2 68 points (Cleveland Cavaliers)

The NBA’s second-largest victory margin of 68 points belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland crushed the Miami Heat 148-80 at home on Dec. 17, 1991.

The Cavaliers were led by a game-high 18 points apiece from star point guard Mark Price and shooting guard John Battle.

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#1 73 points (Memphis Grizzlies)

The Memphis Grizzlies hold the record for the largest victory margin in NBA history of 73 points. Memphis’s record-breaking performance came when it dismantled the OKC Thunder 152-79 at home on Dec. 2, 2021.

The Grizzlies were led by star forward Jaren Jackson Jr.’s game-high 27 points and six 3-pointers on 81.8% shooting.

Coincidentally, the game featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the other end of a historic blowout. Although, he didn’t suit up for the matchup.

Nonetheless, according to the superstar guard, he and his team learned from the embarrassing performance.

“We just made a promise to ourselves to never feel that feeling again,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Thursday. “I think it’s been a little bit of our fuel to get to where we are tonight.”

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