Has an NBA game ever ended 96-81?
It has. 96-81 has been a NBA final 32 times in 77,318 games. The first was Minneapolis Lakers beat New York Knicks on February 1, 1950; the latest was Brooklyn Nets beat Toronto Raptors on December 21, 2025.
That makes 96-81 the 729th most common final score out of 3,189 that have ever occurred in NBA. One point away, 97-81 has happened 30 times and 96-82 has happened 30 times.