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The Denver Nuggets recorded 81 points in the first half of Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
This came as the Nuggets took a massive 30-point lead (81-51) entering halftime en route to their decisive 125-100 victory. Many assumed that Denver’s impressive first half had to be some sort of playoff record, however, that was not the case.
Despite the NBA’s scoring influx over the past decade, the NBA team playoff record for most points scored in a half occurred back in 1978.
During Game 3 of the 1978 NBA Western Conference semifinals between the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bucks led 56-50 at the half. Milwaukee then proceeded to outscore Denver 87-62 in the second half to win 143-112, led by a game-high 35 points from star wing Marques Johnson.
The Bucks would go on to lose the series in seven games, however, their record of 87 points in a playoff half has yet to be broken since.
LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers came the closest to breaking Milwaukee’s record during Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. This came when Cleveland scored 86 first-half points to take an 86-68 lead at the half.
The Cavs went on to win that game 137-116, led by a combined 71 points from James (31) and his co-star Kyrie Irving (40). However, Game 4 would mark Cleveland's only win of the series as the Cavs later went on to lose the series in five games.
Cleveland’s 86-point first-half mark may have fallen just short of Milwaukee’s 87-point record for most points scored by a team in any playoff half. However, the Cavs still hold the record for most points scored by a team in the first half of a playoff game as the Bucks’ 87 points came in the second half.
Nuggets and Suns players and coaches react to Denver’s offensive onslaught in Game 6 against Phoenix
Following Denver’s 125-100 Game 6 win over Phoenix on Thursday that saw them score 81 first-half points, players and staff from both teams reacted.
Nuggets coach Mike Malone spoke about how Denver is the best team in the NBA when they play sound two-way basketball:
“When we defend, when we rebound, when we run, when we share the ball, we believe we're the best team in the NBA,” Malone said. “And tonight, we showed it.”
Meanwhile, Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic said that Denver was just more aggressive than Phoenix all game long:
“We were the aggressors the whole game,” Jokic said. “Especially the first half. We were just really good.”
Suns coach Monty Williams spoke about how the Nuggets were getting too many easy baskets all game long. He then took responsibility for the Suns’ poor defensive effort:
“It was deflating to see them score like that and running down the floor getting easy buckets,” Williams said.
“That falls on my shoulders not having us ready to play at the highest level in the biggest game of the year.”
Finally, Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant spoke about how embarrassing the loss was for the Suns:
“It was a bad feeling,” Durant said. “It was embarrassing. They came out and got us in the mouth and we couldn't recover.”
Following their Game 6 win, the Nuggets have defeated the Suns 4-2 in their second-round series and have advanced to the Western Conference finals. The Nuggets will next take on the winner of the LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors’ Western Conference semifinals series.
