Jan. 11, 2024 is a date that will be remembered as the night of blowouts in the NBA.
As a nationally televised game between the Bucks and Celtics quickly got out of hand, the attention of NBA fans was drawn to the fact that there wasn't a competitive alternative to flip to. With the Bucks leading by 38 points in the third quarter, TNT attempted the rare move of interrupting the game to give a live look-in elsewhere, but in Oklahoma City, the Thunder held a 36-point halftime lead over the Trail Blazers.
A few hundred miles south of OKC, the Mavericks led the Knicks by 19 points in the second quarter.
And while Milwaukee led by as many as 43 points in a wire-to-wire 33-point win over Boston, the Bucks' rout ended up being the second-most dominant display thanks to the Thunder, who, despite not leading wire-to-wire, earned a 139-77 win over the Blazers. That's not a typo — OKC defeated another NBA opponent by 62 points on Thursday night.
As dominant as OKC's performance was, it's not the biggest blowout in league history. Here's where the 62-point rout lands on the list of all-time dominant performances.
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Biggest NBA margins of victory
The biggest margin of victory in NBA history is 73 points. On Dec. 2, 2021, the Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 152-79.
After Thursday's rout of Portland, Oklahoma City is on the wrong side of the worst blowout in league history and on the right side of the fifth-worst blowout in league history.
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Here's a full list of the worst blowouts in league history, with two of the five worst coming in the last three seasons.
| Rank | Margin | Game result | Date |
| 1. | 73 | Grizzlies 152, Thunder 79 | Dec. 2, 2021 |
| 2. | 68 | Cavaliers 148, Heat 80 | Dec. 17, 1991 |
| 3. | 65 | Pacers 124, Trail Blazers 59 | Feb. 27, 1998 |
| 4. | 63 | Lakers 162, Warriors 99 | March 19, 1972 |
| 5. | 62 | Thunder 139, Trail Blazers 77 | Jan. 11, 2024 |
| 62 | Warriors 153, Kings 91 | Nov. 2, 1991 | |
| 62 | Nationals 162, Knicks 100 | Dec. 25, 1960 | |
| 8. | 61 | Hornets 140, Grizzlies 79 | March 22, 2018 |
| 9. | 59 | Bucks 143, Pistons 84 | Dec. 26, 1978 |
| 59 | Warriors 150, Pacers 91 | March 19, 1977 |
Unfortunately for Portland, Thursday's loss was not the worst loss in franchise history. The Trail Blazers are the only NBA franchise to have lost more than one game by over 60 points. During the 1997-98 season, a Trail Blazers team featuring Arvydas Sabonis, Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace suffered a 65-point defeat at the hands of the Pacers.
Interestingly enough, the 1997-98 Trail Blazers advanced to the postseason with a 46-36 record. One year later, the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
With the loss to Oklahoma City, the 2023-24 Trail Blazers fell to 10-27 on the season. The playoffs may be out of reach this year, but the future is bright for the young roster in Portland.
