Thirty-three years ago today, the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets combined for the most points scored in a single basketball game. After three overtime periods, the Pistons prevailed with a 186-184 victory. Isiah Thomas led the way for the Pistons with 47 points and 17 assists. In honour of the memorable battle, we take a look at the other highest scoring match-ups from various sports.
NHL
On January 10th, 1920, the Montreal Canadians defeated the Toronto St. Patricks 14-7, setting a record for most combined goals in a game with 21. 65 years later, the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks tied the record, after the former defeated the latter 12-9. Wayne Gretzky went on to record an astounding seven assists en route to the victory.
MLB
The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs exchanged a combined 49 runs in 1922 in what was at the time called ‘Cubs Park,’ Both accumulated a combined total of 51 hits (26-25 Phillies), and managed to do so without extra innings. Philadelphia trailed by 14 runs heading into the eighth inning, but miraculously completed the comeback. Imagine seeing that happen in today’s MLB!
NFL
The highest scoring game in NFL history took place just over 50 years ago between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Both teams combined for 16 touchdowns, but it was Washington who came out on top with a 72-41 victory. It’s safe to say that if a game like this happened today, there would be a lot of happy, and unhappy fantasy football players.
Soccer
Believe it or not, soccer holds the record for the most combined goals/points on the list. On Halloween in 2002, in a Malagasy Premiere League playoff game, AS Adema defeated SO I’Emyrne 149-0. SO I’Emyrne intentionally conceeded the goals in protest over what they believed was unfair refereeing during a four-team playoff tournament. Believe it or not, every tally was counted as an own goal.
