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List of NBA single-game playoff scoring leaders

None

This is a complete listing of National Basketball Association players who have scored 50 or more points in a playoff game. This feat has only been accomplished 50 times in NBA playoff history by 33 players. Only eight players have scored 50 or more points on more than one occasion: Michael Jordan (eight times), Wilt Chamberlain (four times), Allen Iverson (three times), Donovan Mitchell (three times), Jerry West (twice), Jamal Murray (twice), Damian Lillard (twice), and Jayson Tatum (twice). Rick Barry scored the last two of his three 50+ point playoff games in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Out of those 50 times, a player has earned himself a double-double (having double digits in two statistical categories) only 18 times; points and rebounds achieved 14 times, and points and assists the remaining 4 times. This feat has been achieved by 16 different players. In order of most points scored, these include Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain (4 times), Charles Barkley, Rick Barry, Damian Lillard, Jerry West, Nikola Jokić, Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, Jayson Tatum, Bob Pettit, Billy Cunningham, Bob McAdoo, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, Jamal Murray, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Out of those 32 players, only 6 players have accomplished this feat while being born out of the United States: Dominique Wilkins (France), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Jamal Murray (Canada), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokić (Serbia), and Joel Embiid (Cameroon).

The only NBA player to record a 50+ point triple-double in a playoff game is Russell Westbrook, who scored 51 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and dealing out 13 assists. In the American Basketball Association prior to merging with the NBA, George McGinnis of the Indiana Pacers recorded a 50+ triple double with 51 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists on April 12, 1975. The only players to score 50 or more points in a playoff game seven are Stephen Curry, who scored 50 points against the Sacramento Kings on April 30, 2023, and Jayson Tatum, who scored 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 14, 2023. Only two players scored 50 or more points in the same game. Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets scored 51 and 50 points, respectively, on August 23, 2020. On August 30, 2020, Murray scored 50 points against the Utah Jazz, joining Mitchell as the first pair of players in NBA playoff history to record multiple 50-point games in the same series. Only four players have scored 50 or more points more than once in the same series: Michael Jordan (vs. Cleveland, 1988), Allen Iverson (vs. Toronto, 2001), Donovan Mitchell (vs. Denver, 2020), and Jamal Murray (vs. Utah, 2020). Jordan has five of the ten highest-scoring playoff games in NBA history.

Key

FT%	Free throw percentage	TRB	Rebound (basketball)	AST	Assist (basketball)

Single-game leaders

Rank	Points	Player	Team	Date	Opponent	Series	Score	MP	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	Ref.
1	63	*	Chicago Bulls		Boston Celtics	1986 Eastern Conference First Round	131–135	53	22	41	53.7	0	0	0	19	21	90.5	5	6	url=https://www.nba.com/news/donovan-mitchell-third-most-points-playoff-history	website=nba.com	date=August 17, 2022	access-date=April 24, 2023	title=Donovan Mitchell's 57 points rank third in NBA single-game playoff history}}
2	61	*	Los Angeles Lakers		Boston Celtics	1962 NBA Finals	126–121	48	22	46	47.8				17	19	89.5	22	1
3	57	^	Utah Jazz		Denver Nuggets	2020 Western Conference First Round	125–135	43:14	19	33	57.6	6	15	40.0	13	13	100	9	7
4	56	*	Philadelphia Warriors		Syracuse Nationals	1962 Eastern Division Semi-finals	121–104	48	22	48	45.8				12	22	54.5	35	1
* (2)	Chicago Bulls		Miami Heat	1992 Eastern Conference First Round	119–114	43	20	30	66.7	0	0	0	16	18	88.9	5	5
*	Phoenix Suns		Golden State Warriors	1994 Western Conference First Round	140–133	41	23	31	74.2	3	4	75.0	7	9	77.8	14	4
^	Miami Heat		Milwaukee Bucks	2023 Eastern Conference First Round	119–114	40:45	19	28	67.9	3	8	37.5	15	18	83.3	9	2
8	55	*	San Francisco Warriors		Philadelphia 76ers	1967 NBA Finals	130–124	46	22	48	45.8				11	19	57.9	12	5
* (3)	Chicago Bulls		Cleveland Cavaliers	1988 Eastern Conference First Round	106–101	44	24	45	53.3	0	0	0	7	7	100	6	3
* (4)	Chicago Bulls		Phoenix Suns	1993 NBA Finals	111–105	46	21	37	56.8	0	1	0	13	18	72.2	8	4
* (5)	Chicago Bulls		Washington Bullets	1997 Eastern Conference First Round	109–104	44:13	22	35	62.9	1	2	50.0	10	10	100	7	2
*	Philadelphia 76ers		New Orleans Hornets	2003 Eastern Conference First Round	98–90	46:40	21	32	65.6	3	5	60.0	10	11	90.9	4	8
^	Portland Trail Blazers		Denver Nuggets	2021 Western Conference First Round	140–147	51:44	17	24	70.8	12	17	70.6	9	10	90.0	6	10
14	54	*	Boston Celtics		Atlanta Hawks	1973 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	134–109	48	24	36	66.7				6	6	100	9	6
* (6)	Chicago Bulls		New York Knicks	1993 Eastern Conference Finals	105–95	39	18	30	60.0	6	9	66.7	12	14	85.7	6	2
* (2)	Philadelphia 76ers		Toronto Raptors	2001 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	97–92	47:46	21	39	53.8	3	5	60.0	9	9	100	5	4
17	53	* (2)	Philadelphia Warriors		Syracuse Nationals	1960 Eastern Division Semi-finals	132–112	47	24	42	57.1				5	16	31.3	22	2
*	Los Angeles Lakers		Boston Celtics	1969 NBA Finals	120–118	46:00	21	41	51.2				11	13	84.6	3	10
Isaiah Thomas^	Boston Celtics		Washington Wizards	2017 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	129–119	44:33	18	33	54.5	5	12	41.7	12	13	92.3	4	4
Nikola Jokić^	Denver Nuggets		Phoenix Suns	2023 Western Conference Semi-finals	124–129	39:27	20	30	66.7	2	4	50.0	11	13	84.6	4	11
21	52	* (2)	Los Angeles Lakers		Baltimore Bullets	1965 Western Division Finals	118–115		16	38	42.1				20	21	95.2	5	9
* (3)	Philadelphia 76ers		Toronto Raptors	2001 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	121–88	43:29	21	32	65.6	8	14	57.1	2	2	100	2	7
23	51	*	Boston Celtics		New York Knicks	1967 Eastern Division Semi-finals	118–109	43	19	30	63.3				13	17	76.5	4	1
	Golden State Warriors		Los Angeles Lakers	1987 Western Conference Semi-finals	129–121	44	18	26	69.2	2	3	66.7	13	14	92.9	3	10
*	Boston Celtics		Chicago Bulls	2009 Eastern Conference First Round	127–128	58:45	18	32	56.3	9	18	50.0	6	7	85.7	5	3
^	Oklahoma City Thunder		Houston Rockets	2017 Western Conference Quarterfinals	111–115	41:22	17	43	39.5	1	7	14.3	15	18	83.3	10	13
^	Cleveland Cavaliers		Golden State Warriors	2018 NBA Finals	114–124	47:32	19	32	59.4	3	7	42.9	10	11	90.9	8	8
^ (2)	Utah Jazz		Denver Nuggets	2020 Western Conference First Round	129–127	38:09	15	27	55.6	4	7	57.1	17	18	94.4	4	7
^	Boston Celtics		Philadelphia 76ers	2023 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	112–88	41:40	17	28	60.7	6	10	60.0	11	14	78.6	13	5
30	50	*	Boston Celtics		Syracuse Nationals	1953 Eastern Division Semi-finals	111–105	66	10	22	45.5				30	32	93.8		2
*	St. Louis Hawks		Boston Celtics	1958 NBA Finals	110–109	42	19	34	55.9				12	15	80.0	19
* (3)	Philadelphia Warriors		Boston Celtics	1960 Eastern Division Finals	128–107	46	22	42	52.4				6	14	42.9	35	2
* (4)	San Francisco Warriors		St. Louis Hawks	1964 Western Division Finals	121–97	45	22	32	68.8				6	10	60.0	15	6
*	Philadelphia 76ers		Milwaukee Bucks	1970 Eastern Division Semi-finals	111–118	48	22	39	56.4				6	8	75.0	10	2
*	Buffalo Braves		Washington Bullets	1975 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	108–102	45	20	32	62.5				10	14	71.4	21	1
*	Atlanta Hawks		Detroit Pistons	1986 Eastern Conference First Round	137–125	33	19	28	67.9	0	0	0	12	15	80.0	5	3
* (7)	Chicago Bulls		Cleveland Cavaliers	1988 Eastern Conference First Round	104–93	44	19	35	54.3	0	0	0	12	12	100	7	2
* (8)	Chicago Bulls		Cleveland Cavaliers	1989 Eastern Conference First Round	105–108	43	14	28	50.0	0	1	0	22	27	81.5	3	4
*	Utah Jazz		Seattle SuperSonics	2000 Western Conference First Round	104–93	43:16	18	32	56.3	1	1	100	13	14	92.9	12	0
*	Toronto Raptors		Philadelphia 76ers	2001 Eastern Conference Semi-finals	102–78	44:44	19	29	65.5	9	13	69.2	3	3	100	6	7
*	Los Angeles Lakers		Phoenix Suns	2006 Western Conference First Round	118–126	52:06	20	35	57.1	5	8	62.5	5	6	83.3	8	5
*	Dallas Mavericks		Phoenix Suns	2006 Western Conference Finals	117–101	43:29	14	26	53.8	5	6	83.3	17	18	94.4	12	3
^ (2)	Portland Trail Blazers		Oklahoma City Thunder	2019 Western Conference First Round	118–115	45:16	17	33	51.5	10	18	55.6	6	8	75.0	7	6
^	Golden State Warriors		Los Angeles Clippers	2019 Western Conference First Round	129–110	42:03	15	26	57.7	6	14	42.9	14	15	93.3	6	5
^	Denver Nuggets		Utah Jazz	2020 Western Conference First Round	127–129	43:09	18	31	58.1	9	15	60.0	5	5	100	11	7
^ (2)	Denver Nuggets		Utah Jazz	2020 Western Conference First Round	119–107	43:03	17	24	70.8	9	12	75.0	7	9	77.8	5	6
^ (2)	Boston Celtics		Brooklyn Nets	2021 Eastern Conference First Round	125–119	40:31	16	30	53.3	5	11	45.5	13	15	86.7	6	7
^	Milwaukee Bucks		Phoenix Suns	2021 NBA Finals	105–98	42	16	25	64	1	3	33.3	17	19	89.5	14	2
^	Golden State Warriors		Sacramento Kings	2023 NBA Western Conference First Round	120–100	37:41	20	38	52.6	7	18	38.9	3	5	60.0	8	6
^	Philadelphia 76ers	April 25, 2024	New York Knicks	2024 NBA Eastern Conference First Round	125–114	41	13	19	68.4	5	7	71.4	19	21	90.5	8	4
^ (3)	Cleveland Cavaliers		Orlando Magic	2024 Eastern Conference First Round	96–103	41:34	22	36	61.1	3	9	33.3	3	6	50.00	4	4

ABA playoff scoring leaders

During the nine-year lifespan of the American Basketball Association, five players achieved a 50-point game.

Rank	Points	Player	Team	Date	Opponent	Series	Score	MP	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST
1	53	Roger Brown	Indiana Pacers	May 19, 1970	Los Angeles Stars	1970 ABA Finals	142–120	47:00	18	29	62.1	3	8	.375	14	16	87.5	13	6
1	53	Julius Erving	Virginia Squires	April 4, 1972	The Floridians	1972 Eastern Division Semifinals	118–113	50:00	22	29	.759	1	1	1.000	8	9	.889	14	6
3	52	Rick Barry	Washington Caps	April 28, 1970	Denver Rockets	1970 Western Division Semifinals	119–143	45:00	18	36	50.0	3	5	60.0	13	13	100.0	8
4	51	George McGinnis	Indiana Pacers	April 12, 1975	San Antonio Spurs	1975 Western Division Semifinals	109–110	48:00	21	40	52.55	3	6	50.0	6	11	54.5	17	10
5	50	Rick Barry	New York Nets	April 1, 1972	Kentucky Colonels	1972 Eastern Division Semifinals	122–108	48:00	18	31	58.1	0	3	0.0	14	14	100.0	6	2

Notes

References

(December 14, 2023). "Pacers legend McGinnis dead at 73".
"2025 Hall of Fame Candidates".
(August 17, 2022). "Donovan Mitchell's 57 points rank third in NBA single-game playoff history".
Reynolds, Tim. (April 24, 2023). "BUTLER SCORES 56, HEAT STUN BUCKS 119-114 FOR 3-1 LEAD".
(April 30, 2023). "Stephen Curry's 50 sets Game 7 record as Warriors eliminate Kings".
(April 25, 2024). "Joel Embiid scores 50 to get 76ers first win of series vs. Knicks".
"Donovan Mitchell with 50 Points vs. Orlando Magic".
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197005190LAS.html
(May 21, 1970). "Brown Buckets 53, Stars Dwindle by 22". Oxnard Press Courier.
(April 6, 1972). "Squires Expected To Put End To Sad History of Floridians". Danville Bee.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197004280DNR.html
(April 29, 1970). "Rockets Drop Caps, 143-119". Avalanche Journal.
Bailey, Jim. (April 13, 1975). "Big Mac Gets 51, But Pacers Nipped". Anderson Sunday Herald.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197204010KEN.html

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