Nets’ 66-Point Game vs. Knicks Was NBA’s Most Futile Effort in a Decade

The Nets failed to hit 70 points in a January game for the second season in a row.

The Nets lost by an eye-popping 54 points and scored the fewest points in an NBA game in nearly a decade. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Last January, the Nets put forth one of the worst offensive performances in recent NBA history, scoring just 67 points in a loss at the Clippers, 126–67.

Just over a year later, Brooklyn one-upped itself for offensive ineptitude. Facing the crosstown rival Knicks, the Nets managed just 66 points this time, falling 120–66 to a struggling New York club that had lost four consecutive games and nine games since the start of the new year.

Forward Michael Porter Jr., who is having an impressive season for the otherwise rough Nets, managed just 12 points to lead the team, while forward Ziaire Williams came off the bench to score 11—the team’s only other double-digit scorer. The Knicks, meanwhile, had six players in double digits and 13 of the 14 players to enter the game for New York hit at least one shot.

The 66-point game was the lowest point total for an NBA team in nearly a decade. Early in the 2016 season, the Mavericks managed just 64 points in an 80–64 slugfest with the Grizzlies, the lowest point total for a team in the last decade.

Nine NBA teams have failed to score at least 70 points in the last decade

Most of those low-scoring games came during the 2016 and ‘17 seasons. The rebuilding Nets are the only franchise to fail to hit 70 points in the 2020s, doing so in each of the last two seasons.

The two Brooklyn teams are also the only ones on the list to do so after the start of the New Year in their respective seasons.

Date	Team	Opponent	Score
Nov. 18, 2016	Mavericks	vs. Grizzlies	80–64
Jan. 21, 2026	Nets	at Knicks	120–66
Jan. 15, 2025	Nets	at Clippers	126–67
Nov. 14, 2018	Jazz	at Mavericks	118–68
Nov. 25, 2016	Hawks	at Jazz	95–68
Dec. 4, 2017	Wizards	at Jazz	116–69
Oct. 28, 2017	Bulls	vs. Thunder	101–69
Dec. 16, 2016	Bulls	vs. Bucks	95–69
Nov. 14, 2016	Magic	at Pacers	88–69

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