Most Points in a Quarter (NBA)

Klay Thompson scored 37 points in a single quarter for the Golden State Warriors against the Sacramento Kings on January 23, 2015, the most points in one quarter in NBA history. He made all 13 of his field-goal attempts, including nine three-pointers, in a third quarter that is still regarded as the greatest shooting display the sport has seen.

A quarter is only 12 minutes long, which makes a 30-point period one of basketball’s rarest feats and a 37-point one almost unimaginable. Here is the full leaderboard of the highest-scoring quarters in NBA history, the story behind Thompson’s perfect run, and why the record has held up. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: Klay Thompson’s perfect 37

Thompson’s third quarter against Sacramento was mathematically flawless. He attempted 13 shots and made all 13, drained all nine of his three-pointers, and added two free throws, for 37 points in a single period. The Warriors, already a rising power, watched their sharpshooter turn a competitive game into a rout in the space of 12 minutes.

What sets the performance apart is not just the total but the efficiency. Scoring 37 in a quarter would be remarkable at any shooting percentage; doing it without a single miss is why the game is considered untouchable, even in an era of high-volume three-point shooting.

The full leaderboard of the highest-scoring quarters

The table below ranks the highest-scoring quarters in NBA history.

Rank	Points	Player	Quarter	Date	Opponent
1	37	Klay Thompson	3rd	Jan 23, 2015	Kings
2	34	Kevin Love	1st	Nov 23, 2016	Trail Blazers
3	33	George Gervin	2nd	Apr 9, 1978	Jazz
3	33	Carmelo Anthony	3rd	Dec 10, 2008	Timberwolves

Only a small group of players have ever reached the 33-point tier in a single quarter, and just two, Thompson and Love, have cleared it. A handful of others, including modern stars during scoring outbursts, have flirted with the 30-point mark, but the top of the list has stayed remarkably stable.

Kevin Love’s 34 and the three-point era

Kevin Love’s 34-point first quarter against Portland in November 2016 is the second-best on record and, like Thompson’s, was fueled by three-point shooting; Love hit eight from deep in the period. The two performances underline how the modern game, built on volume from beyond the arc, has made explosive quarters more achievable, even if 40 remains out of reach.

Before the three-point boom, the record belonged to a different kind of scorer. George Gervin’s 33-point quarter came during his famous 63-point game in 1978, when he was chasing the season scoring title with mid-range mastery rather than threes. On the final day of that season, Gervin needed a huge night to hold off David Thompson for the scoring crown, and he poured in 33 in the second quarter alone to get there. It is a reminder that the biggest quarters are often produced under real stakes, not in garbage time.

What it takes to reach the 30-point tier

Scoring 30 in a single quarter is so rare that only a handful of players have ever done it, and most needed a specific set of conditions: an opponent unable to double-team, a hot streak that stretched across most of the 12 minutes, and enough possessions to get the shots up. Carmelo Anthony’s 33-point third quarter in 2008 came in a similar burst, as he caught fire and simply could not miss. The common thread across the leaderboard is that these are not slow accumulations but sudden, concentrated explosions, one player commandeering an entire period while teammates feed the run.

Why the record stands

Reaching 37 in 12 minutes demands a perfect storm: a hot shooter, a defense that cannot adjust, and enough possessions to get the shots up. Thompson had all three, plus the accuracy to convert every attempt. That combination is so unlikely that the record has survived a decade of the highest-scoring offenses in league history.

Single-quarter outbursts are the building blocks of the biggest scoring nights, like those on our most points in a single NBA game leaderboard, and they can flip a close contest into the kind of rout that features on our biggest blowout in NBA history list. The players capable of them tend to be the same names near the top of the most points in NBA history rankings.

Why the record matters

The most points in a quarter captures basketball at its most concentrated: one player, one 12-minute window, an unstoppable run. Klay Thompson’s perfect 37 is the definitive example, a performance so efficient it may never be equaled. Until someone matches 13-of-13 shooting under the lights, the record belongs to him.

The short version: Klay Thompson scored 37 points in the third quarter against Sacramento on January 23, 2015 for the most points in a single NBA quarter, going a perfect 13-of-13 from the field. Kevin Love’s 34 in 2016 is second, with George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony tied at 33, through the 2025 season.