Thunder by 62, Bucks by 33: Huge margins define night of blowout NBA action
After this past Friday’s NBA slate set records for wide margins of victory, the recent rash of blowouts struck Thursday.
The Milwaukee Bucks topped the Boston Celtics by 33 points in a matchup between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The sky-high Oklahoma City Thunder kept their momentum rolling as they took down the Portland Trail Blazers by 62 points — the fifth-largest win in NBA history — 139-77. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder, posting a game-high 31 points.
Giannis and Portis led the way as the Bucks win the battle between the East’s top two teams 🦌🦌
Giannis: 24 PTS, 10-13 FGM, 12 REB, 6 AST, 26 MIN
Portis: 28 PTS, 5 3PM, 12 REB, 22 MIN pic.twitter.com/F3GfixJVyC— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2024
In the nightcap, the Phoenix Suns got 37 points from Bradley Beal en route to beating the Los Angeles Lakers by only 18 points, 127-109.
Thursday marked the first day in the shot-clock era where multiple teams led by 35-plus points at halftime, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Even the NBA Paris game wasn’t immune to the trend of lopsided score lines. The Brooklyn Nets enjoyed a late fourth quarter push to make the final score a respectable 111-102. The Cleveland Cavaliers led by as many as 26 points before the Nets closed the gap in garbage time, however.
Data from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this story.
