On November 10, 1990, the Nuggets scored 107 points…in one half

After ten seasons under Doug Moe, the Nuggets had a change of heart in the summer of 1990.

The 1988 “Coach of the Year” allowed Denver to have the best offense in the NBA six times in ten years, but the leaders wanted more and decided to hire Paul Washed, the coach of Loyola & Marymount University. He is not unknown in the NBA because it was he who led Lakers to the title in 1980 with Magic Johnson moved to center in Game 6 of the Finals against the Sixers. This would be his only feat in the NBA as he would be replaced by Pat Riley two years later, and his move to the Bulls would be unsuccessful.

Finally, he made his mark in the NCAA with Loyola & Marymount. His play style: full run and shoot! On his orders, we find the deceased Hank Gathers etc Bo Kimbleand the university is shaking up the entire NCAA with this hyper-offensive style of play and this all-court pressure to project forward quickly.

It’s dangerous and appropriate for college basketball, but that’s what attracts the Nuggets and here’s what he announced at the start of the season: “We take the ball, go out on the field and shoot in less than six seconds. This is the ideal system for this season’s team.”

153 points scored on average after six matches

There we find rookie Chris Jackson (who will become Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) but also an elf Michael Adams or veterans Orlando Woolridge and Walter Davis. On paper, there are really only strikers…

The result: The Nuggets began a five-game losing streak when they traveled to Phoenix on Nov. 10, 1990, a team that also focused on offense. At the time, reporters wondered if Phoenix or Denver would be the first team to reach 200 points in a game.

An embryonic halftime response from this Phoenix-Denver surreal score of… 107 to 67 for the Suns of Cotton Fitzsimmons, well on his way to winning his 700th career game that night. 107 points is a new record for points scored in the first half. The old record dates back to November 7th, three days earlier, and belonged to… the Nuggets with 90 points against the Spurs.

The carnage would subside in the second half, but the Suns would finally win 173-143, and the Suns’ score is still the highest point total for a non-overtime game, tied with the Celtics in 1959. All without a single 3-pointer! On the other hand, there is no scoring record, as it belongs to the Warriors and Nuggets who split 162-158… eight days earlier! After six games, the Nuggets are averaging 153 points per game…

“They open the shots, and we rush to the goal on the other side” will explain Tom Chambers, the All-Star wing player of the Suns.Every time we would shoot from the outside, the coach would yell at us.“The author of 23 points and 17 assists, Kevin Johnson will be looking to come out for a lateral point in the second quarter!You know, like when you’re a kid, and you run around too much” the leader of the Suns will say.

Basketball is hooray for whoever scores more points than the other, and that makes everyone in the NBA sad. Spurs coach Larry Brown will sum up this basketball in one word: “Ugly.” As for the players, we believe it. Evidence with pivot Blair Rasmussen: “We know people laugh, but we’ll see who laughs last.” The game’s leading scorer with 40 points, the late Orlando Woolridge has an idea about the origin of the taunt: “Many people criticize this system for one simple reason: they don’t want it to work. Because if that’s the case, they’re setting themselves up for hard times.“

“When it works, it doesn’t give 1+1 = 2, but 1+1 = 7”

Suns assistant Paul Westphal, before becoming coach a few years later, summed up the meeting well: “For us it was a game like any other. The game is so fast that points have no meaning anymore. The way they play, they encourage us to pass and that is very good for us. We have a lot of fast players and that suits our style. As for them, I don’t think they are a good team, and every system depends on the players you have. They look like an “expansion team” to me today. Two All-Stars, Alex English and Fat Lever, were released.“

The finalist of the NBA, Portland, will be disturbed by this atypical basketball. “It’s scary because you don’t know what to expect.“, admits Rick Adelman, coach of the Blazers.It was really hard to play, and to explain.“

But Paul Westhead will insist. “It is a high-risk strategy because it creates high-risk problems for opponents” he explained that year.The idea is to play ultra-fast on offense and ultra-fast on defense, so it’s a double whammy. When it works, it doesn’t give 1+1 = 2 but 1+1 = 7.”

And since that won’t work, the Nuggets will finish the season with 20 wins and 62 losses and the worst defense in the NBA at nearly 131 points per game.

It’s against these Nuggets Scott Skiles will set a record with 30 assists… Small consolation, Denver will also finish with the best offense in the NBA with 119.9 points per game. This is less than Doug Moe’s version of the Nuggets who averaged over 120 points and even 126.5 points per game in 1982!