NBA

Warriors score NBA-record 51 points in 1st quarter

The Golden State Warriors scored an NBA-record 51 points in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Part of high-scoring night around the league

Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant helped his team to an NBA-record 51-point first quarter on Tuesday night. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

NBA teams piled up the points like they hadn't done in 35 years.

Three teams scored 140 points Tuesday night, with the Golden State Warriors setting an NBA record by pouring in 51 during the first quarter of their victory over Denver.

The Warriors went on to a 142-111 win that moved them ahead of the Nuggets into first place in the Western Conference.

"They made a lot of shots, to be honest," Denver's Nikola Jokic said. "They played really good basketball at a high level."

And that wasn't even the biggest total of the night.

Philadelphia went for 149, with an 83-point first half, in a 42-point rout of Minnesota in the first meeting between the teams since the Jimmy Butler trade.

Also, the Atlanta Hawks beat Oklahoma City 142-126.

The league said it was the first time three teams scored 140 on the same night since Jan. 7, 1984 , when the Warriors (154), Nuggets (141) and Knicks (140) reached the mark.