Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and the NBA's All-Time Best Duo Performances
Sunday night, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 51 and 40 points, respectively, combining for one of the most historic single-game tandems in the history of the NBA.
We got to wondering what were the best single-game scoring tandems in the history of the NBA and did some research to find out who.
Now, there are some limitations in terms of research. Without literally and manually going through every boxscore in the history of the game, this is the best I can do. If you provide links to other tandems, I'll put them on the list.
These are teammates who have scored 35 points, ordered by the total sum of points they scored. I'll list every tandem who scored below 75 first, then I'll list the ones 75 and over individually.
In all, the feat has been accomplished just 41 times.
A gold star will go to whoever can guess this trivia question without peaking:
There have been eight tandems to combine for more than 80 points with both scoring at least 35. One player has been a member of three of those tandems.
Who is that player?
Tandems That Combined for Under 75 Points
1 of 20Here is the list, by combined scoring totals, of players who have totaled form 70-74 points with both players scoring at least 35. There are 24 tandems on this list:
72: Kobe Bryant (36) and Shaquille O'Neal (36), Los Angeles Lakers
Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond, Golden State Warriors (75 Points)
2 of 20Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tim Hardaway scored 40 points and Mitch Richmond scored 35 in an overtime game on Jan. 18, 1991, leading the Golden State Warriors to an overtime win.
Hardaway also had 14 assists, and both players played 52 minutes in the game.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (75 Points)
3 of 20This was not the first time that Westbrook and Durant accomplished the feat in double-overtime.
Against the Washington Wizards on Jan. 28, 2011 they did it. In that game, Durant scored 40 points. Westbrook added 35 points,13 assists and 10 boards.
Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Tripucka, Detroit Pistons (76 Points)
4 of 20Kelly Tripucka and Isiah Thomas combined for 76 points when Thomas scored 39 and Tripucka 37. It happened in a losing cause, though, as the New Jersey Nets beat the Pistons 130-122.
Tom Chambers and Eddie Johnson, Phoenix Suns (77 Points)
5 of 20This is the only case where part of the tandem came off the bench. Eddie Johnson scored 37 points in relief, and Tom Chambers, who also grabbed 12 rebounds in the process, scored 40 to lead the Phoenix Suns over the Boston Celtics, 135-126.
Derek Harper and Rolando Blackman, Dallas Mavericks (77 Points)
6 of 20Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 29, 1989, the Mavericks' duo of Derek Harper (42 points) and Rolando Blackman (35 points) combined for 77 points.
Unfortunately for them, it came in a loss, as Portland beat Dallas 144-140 in triple overtime. The Trail Blazers had four players top 20 points in the game.
Jeff Malone and Karl Malone, Utah Jazz (78 Points)
7 of 20This is the only time where the tandem in question shared the same last name, although Jeff Malone and Karl Malone have no relation.
The Utah Jazz blew out the Golden State Warriors 135-117 with the lesser Malone leading the team in scoring with 43 points; Karl added 35.
Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors (78 Points)
8 of 20Maybe this is the game that made Washington decide it was going to make the move to acquire them?
This Golden State Warriors tandem combined for 78 points against its future employers when they beat the Wizards 113-107.
Gilbert Arenas scored 41 points, and Jamison added 37 in the win.
Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, Orlando Magic (79 Points)
9 of 20Shaquille O'Neal scored 40 points and Anfernee Hardaway scored 38 to lead the Orlando Magic past the Golden State Warriors, 131-128.
Hardaway had a double-double, adding 14 assists, and O'Neal had a double-double as well with 18 rebounds.
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (79 Points)
10 of 20Kobe Bryant scored 40 points and Shaquille O'Neal scored 39 for the Lakers as the tandem combined for 79 points in their best game as a duo. They overcame the rival Sacramento Kings 109-106 in the process.
Shareef Abdur-Raheem and Jason Terry, Atlanta Hawks (79 Points)
11 of 20Probably one of the stranger tandems you wouldn't expect to see on this list is Jason Terry and Shareef-Abdur-Rahim.
Terry scored 43 and Abdur-Raheem added 36, as the two were able to lead the Hawks to a 128-123 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 13, 2002.
Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks (80 Points)
12 of 20Before he was teamed with Dirk Nowitzki to win a ring, Jason Kidd was teamed with Jimmy Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. Mashburn and Kidd combined for 80 points in a 156-147 victory over the Houston Rockets; Mashburn scored 42, and Kidd scored 38 to go along with 11 rebounds.
Kidd and Russell Westbrook (the first time) are the only two players to have triple-doubles that came in a game where one half of the tandem scored at least 35.
John Starks and Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks (82 Points)
13 of 20Patrick Ewing and John Starks combined for 82 points in their 124-116 win over the Charlotte Hornets (not Bobcats). Ewing scored 43 points and 12 boards, and Starks had 39 points with 13 assists.
Interestingly enough, this game came very close to being the only game where two tandems accomplished the feat in the same game; Alonzo Mourning scored 35 for the Hornets, and Larry Johnson scored 31.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls (84 Points)
14 of 20You knew they would be here sooner or later, right?
This duo of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan is one of only four duos in NBA history where each player scored more than 40 points in the same game. Jordan had 44 and Pippen had 40 as the Bulls overcame the Indiana Pacers, 110-102.
In the same game, Dennis Rodman had 23 rebounds, but he also had five points and zero blocks. There have only been 11 times since 1986 that a player grabbed at least 23 rebounds without a blocked shot and scoring five or fewer points—ten of those times, it was Rodman.
Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn, Dallas Mavericks (85 Points)
15 of 20In a 124-123 win over the Denver Nuggets, Jim Jackson scored 50 points and Jamal Mashburn added 35 in overtime. The Nuggets had four players who scored at least 20 points, but the four combined for just eight points more than the Jackson-Mashburn combo.
David Wesley and Jamal Mashburn, New Orleans Hornets (85 Points)
16 of 20If you answered Jamal Mashburn to the trivia question on the opening slide, you have won yourself a gold star! I don't know how many of those are being given out, though...
With the New Orleans Hornets, Mashburn scored 50 points and David Wesley added 35, as the Hornets bested the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 21, 2003. That made three teams where Mashburn had scored at least 35 points and combined with a teammate to score 80.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City (91 Points)
17 of 20Kevin Durant's and Russell Westbrook's fantastic game from Sunday night currently ranks as the third-best by a duo in NBA history. They also have a third player who joins them on the list, too.
Serge Ibaka scored 14 points, and added 15 rebounds and 11 blocks to complete a triple-double. This was the first time where two teammates had scored at least 35 points and a third had a triple-double.
George Gervin and Mike Mitchell, San Antonio Spurs (95 Points)
18 of 20George Gervin scored 50 points and Mike Mitchell added 45 points as the pair combined for 95 points in a 171-166 triple-overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
This was another case of the opposition nearly countering with a pair of 35-plus scorers of their own. Brian Winters scored 41 points and Junior Bridgeman scored 31 in the losing cause for the Bucks.
Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English, Detroit Pistons (98 Points)
19 of 20In a game that featured 370 points, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 behind Kiki Vandeweghe's 51 points and Alex English's 47.
That is the highest point total by a tandem where both players scored at least 35 in NBA history.
And that's still three points shy of what Chamberlain did by himself in his 100-point game.
John Long, Kelly Tripucka and Isaiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons (116 Points)
20 of 20When I was in junior high school, Kelly Tripucka was at Notre Dame and was going to be a big star. I was a huge fan because he was PROOF that Kelly wasn't a "girl's name," but I digress.
In the same game that featured the 98 from Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English, a trio of Detroit Pistons all broke the 35 barrier, combining for a total of 116 points.
In all, it was the highest-scoring game in NBA history, with 170 total points being scored in triple overtime. There were a total of 142 field goals drained by the two teams combined.
In all, 12 players reached double figures.
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