3 teams pour in 140 points on high-scoring night in NBA

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, left, congratulates guard Andre Iguodala after his dunk against the Denver Nuggets in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, in Denver. The Warriors won 142-111. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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.