Boston Celtics Scored 157 Points Against New York Knicks in 1990

Published on April 22nd, 2025 6:06 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


A total of 10 teams - including the 2020 Los Angeles Clippers and 1985 Los Angeles Lakers - have managed to crack 150 points in a single NBA playoff game.

A couple of those teams needed overtime to move over the 150 point mark, including the 1992 Portland Trail Blazers and 1992 Phoenix Suns.

One team, however, stands above the rest, as the 1989-90 Boston Celtics managed to score 157 points in a single playoff game, which is still the record to this day.

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It was a first-round series in the spring of 1990, as the 45-37 New York Knicks were taking on the 52-30 Boston Celtics.

The top of the Eastern Conference was stacked with talented teams that season, as the Celtics finished 18 games over .500 but still managed to finish in 4th place.

After winning Game 1 of the series, the Celtics looked to move ahead 2-0 on April 28th, 1990.

The Celtics would see eight players finish with double digit points, including Kevin McHale (31 points) and Reggie Lewis (21 points).

Larry Bird wasn't really feeling it from the field on that day, so he decided that he would get his teammates involved as much as possible, as he finished the game with 16 assists.

Robert Parish would finish with a total of 16 rebounds.

The Celtics just kept coming on that day, as they scored 41 points in the 1st quarter, 33 points in the 2nd quarter, 42 points in the third quarter and 41 points in the 4th quarter.

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Despite getting off to a great start in the series, the Celtics would end up dropping the next three games straight to bow out in the first round.