Has an NBA game ever ended 81-71?
Yes. NBA has seen a final score of 81-71 12 times. It first happened on January 22, 1950, when New York Knicks beat Rochester Royals, and most recently on April 27, 2009, when Atlanta Hawks beat Miami Heat.
That makes 81-71 the 1247th most common final score out of 3,189 that have ever occurred in NBA. One point away, 82-71 has happened 9 times and 81-72 has happened 13 times. At one point the score disappeared for 35 years, between 1952 and 1987.
Every 81-71 in NBA history
| Date | Result | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-04-27 | Atlanta Hawks over Miami Heat | 2008 | Playoff |
| 2003-03-15 | Boston Celtics over Detroit Pistons | 2002 | |
| 2003-03-11 | New Orleans Hornets over Indiana Pacers | 2002 | |
| 2002-02-20 | Los Angeles Clippers over Miami Heat | 2001 | |
| 1999-02-20 | Miami Heat over Houston Rockets | 1998 | |
| 1998-01-02 | Cleveland Cavaliers over Orlando Magic | 1997 | |
| 1996-01-31 | Cleveland Cavaliers over Milwaukee Bucks | 1995 | |
| 1988-01-05 | Atlanta Hawks over Detroit Pistons | 1987 | |
| 1952-12-04 | Minneapolis Lakers over New York Knicks | 1952 | |
| 1952-01-13 | Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons over Baltimore Bullets | 1951 | |
| 1950-11-01 | Baltimore Bullets over Minneapolis Lakers | 1950 | |
| 1950-01-22 | New York Knicks over Rochester Royals | 1949 |