NBA
What is the all-time record for 3-pointers made by a team in a NBA game?
The long distance shot is one of the most exciting shots in basketball, and the Boston Celtics tied the all time NBA record against the Knicks.
The Boston Celtics tied the NBA three point record with 29 trays against the Knicks. Al Horford dropped the shot from just above the baseline with eight minutes left to go in the game. They then bombarded the board in an effort to break the record but it was not to be. But let’s take a look at the record that they tied.
On a December night in 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a performance that sent shockwaves through the NBA. When the final buzzer sounded, they had buried 29 three-pointers, setting a new record for most threes made by a team in a single game. The victims were the Miami Heat, and the final score told the story: 144-97. It was one of those nights where everything clicked, and for Milwaukee, the three-point line became their playground.
What made this feat all the more remarkable was how balanced the shooting effort was. Twelve of the 13 Bucks players who hit the floor that night made at least one shot from deep. Jrue Holiday led the charge with six triples on 10 attempts. Donte DiVincenzo was right behind him, knocking down five of six. Khris Middleton, the team’s steady hand, chipped in four of his own on five tries. Even the big man, Brook Lopez, found his stroke, hitting three of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
It wasn’t just the volume of threes that stunned—it was the efficiency. Milwaukee shot 56.9% from deep, hitting 29 of their 51 attempts. The barrage was relentless, and by the time Sam Merrill sank his 3-pointer with just over six minutes left in the game, the Bucks had broken the previous record of 27 threes set by the Houston Rockets in 2019.
Since that historic night, the Bucks' record has remained unbroken. A few teams have come close—Houston and Utah each made 28 threes in games during the 2021 season, but neither could match Milwaukee‘s 29. Several other teams, including the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors, have tied the old Rockets’ mark of 27, but none have managed to surpass it.
That night in December remains a high-water mark in NBA history, a game where Milwaukee’s shooters were in perfect harmony.