How is NBA first-quarter scoring measured here?

Every number comes from logged final quarter-by-quarter scores — 860 games over the last year. "For" is what the team scored in the opening quarter; "against" is what they gave up.

How do bettors use first-quarter stats?

Mostly for first-quarter and half-time markets: if a team consistently starts fast or slow, that's worth knowing before taking an early-game over, under or lead bet. Check the number, then check the price on the live odds board.

NBA · 860 games logged

Who starts fast: first-quarter scoring

Q1 is the highest-scoring quarter in the NBA (average 58.1 combined points). The fastest starters are Miami Heat at 31.8 first-quarter points a game, against a league average of 29.0.

Q158.1

Q257.1

Q357.7

Q454.5

Average combined points per quarter, league-wide.

Team	Games	1st-quarter points for	Against
Miami Heat	52	31.8	29.5
San Antonio Spurs	74	31.6	26.8
Los Angeles Lakers	63	30.3	28.8
Charlotte Hornets	53	30.3	28.3
Oklahoma City Thunder	66	30.0	27.0
Denver Nuggets	58	29.9	29.2
Memphis Grizzlies	51	29.8	30.8
Atlanta Hawks	56	29.6	29.6
Dallas Mavericks	48	29.5	32.6
Portland Trail Blazers	56	29.4	30.1
Indiana Pacers	50	29.4	30.5
New Orleans Pelicans	50	29.3	31.0
Phoenix Suns	58	29.1	27.7
Philadelphia 76ers	65	29.1	29.4
Cleveland Cavaliers	67	29.1	27.8
Golden State Warriors	54	29.1	29.0
Boston Celtics	58	28.9	26.1
New York Knicks	71	28.9	28.1
Detroit Pistons	64	28.8	27.5
Minnesota Timberwolves	63	28.7	27.8
LA Clippers	52	28.6	28.5
Sacramento Kings	50	28.5	29.8
Utah Jazz	52	28.4	31.0
Chicago Bulls	51	28.3	30.4
Toronto Raptors	56	28.0	27.3
Orlando Magic	59	27.9	27.9
Houston Rockets	58	27.4	27.7
Washington Wizards	52	26.6	32.3
Milwaukee Bucks	51	26.6	30.2
Brooklyn Nets	54	25.6	30.7

Last 400 days of completed games; teams need at least 8 logged games to appear. Rates update as new games are logged. Last build: 2026-10-09 06:49 UTC.

These numbers meet a price: first-quarter and half-time markets are on the live NBA odds board — or start with our free NBA pick.

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ATP 15 games

WTA 2 games

Cricket 3 games

Bundesliga 1 game

Ligue 1 1 game

EFL 1 game

NHL 4 games

NCAAF 5 games

WNBA 2 games

UFC 6 games

Who starts fast: first-quarter scoring

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