The way basketball is played has changed in recent years, with elite three-point shooters like Steph Curry showing that shooting from distance can be very effective.
As a result, the current era boasts a lot of talented three-point shooters aiming to maximise their scoring potential.
On the all-time list of the best three-point scoring games in history, there have been 28 occasions on which a player has made 11 threes, with only two coming before 2013.
Here, we have looked into every time that a player has scored 12 or more threes in a game.
1. Klay Thompson
Thompson is the sole owner of the single-game NBA three-point record, taking it from then-team-mate Curry in 2018. Curry had made 13 three-pointers in 2016, but two years later, Thompson went one better.
The shooting guard made 14 of 24 threes in a victory against the Chicago Bulls.
He made 42 of his 52 points from behind the three-point line, and all of his threes came in the first three quarters of the game, before the Golden State Warriors decided to bench their starters for the fourth quarter.
Thompson could conceivably have stretched his record even further had he played the final quarter, but since 2018, nobody has managed to match his 14 threes, despite some getting close.
=2. Steph Curry
Curry’s best three-point return came back in 2016, in a period of dominance for the Golden State Warriors.
In November, against the New Orleans Pelicans, he set his record for threes, making 13 of 17.
He only scored three more field goals in the game that were not from behind the three-point line, and 39 of his 46 points came from three-pointers.
At the time, his contested three-point shot at the end of the game set the record for the most threes in a game in NBA history, with 13.
=2. Zach Lavine
By the time of Lavine’s 13 threes in 2018, the record had increased to 14, so he was not matching it, but going one below.
He still strung together a fantastic performance to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets by one point, 116-115.
Lavine made 13 of 17 threes on his way to a 49-point game, and seven of those came in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning shot after he had stolen the ball with the score at 115-113 to the Hornets.
=2. Damian Lillard
Lillard put together one of the most complete performances of any player in history in a 131-114 victory for the Portland Trail Blazers against the Houston Rockets.
He hit 13 three-pointers to go one shy of the NBA record, and he did that within a spectacular 71-point game, knowing when to shoot from behind the line or take the safer option, as he made 22 field goals in all.
Not only was his threes total the joint second-most in history, but 71 points in a game has only been beaten by four players in history.
=5. Kobe Bryant
Kobe was not known as quite as much of a three-point shooter as others on the list, though he was a phenomenal scorer, and that shooting ability stood him in good stead for the LA Lakers against the Seattle Supersonics in January 2003.
Kobe scored 45 points in the 119-98 victory, and he attempted more threes (18) than he did two-point field goals (10). He drained 12 of his three-point attempts, at a percentage of .667.
=5. Donyell Marshall
Marshall had a career three-point percentage of under .350, but he was way above that (.632) as he drained 12 threes for the Toronto Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers in March 2005.
Marshall played 28 minutes, in which he attempted 19 threes, and scored a career-high 38 points, with only two of them not from behind the three-point line.
All the more impressive was that Marshall started the game on the bench, but he was the Raptors’ highest-scorer in their victory.
=5. Steph Curry
The first time Curry ever knocked down 12 threes in a game came in one of many seasons in which the Golden State Warriors guard both attempted and made the most threes in a season, highlighting how he has led the game in terms of shooting.
Curry scored 46 points in the victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, and 36 of those came from three-pointers, as he knocked down 12 from 16 attempts, at 75 per cent.
In the final moments of the game, Curry tied the then-record number of threes from way behind the three-point line.
=5. Klay Thompson
Thompson and Curry earned the nickname the Splash Brothers, as a result of their constant ability to score three-pointers during their time together with the Golden State Warriors.
While Curry was the leading light in terms of consistently draining threes, Thompson was not far behind him.
In February 2023, he was in some of his best form behind the three-point line, first knocking down 12 three pointers from 16 attempts in victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which Curry was absent for.
Only six of Thompson’s 42 points that game did not come from behind the three-point line.
=5. Klay Thompson
Just over two weeks later, Thompson again netted 12 three pointers, this time in a victory against the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors guard attempted 17 three-pointers, and the 12 that he made were the only field goals he scored in that game. The remainder of his 42 points came from the free throw line.
=5. Keegan Murray
An outlier on the list in that he’s a forward, not a guard, and Murray was very early in his NBA career when he knocked down 12 threes for the Sacramento Kings against the Utah Jazz.
Murray scored 12 of 15 three-point attempts, and made 11 in a row, setting a league record in the process. He also set a career best of 47 points in the 125-104 victory.
=5. Steph Curry
Curry has been draining threes for a long time, and there are performances on this list between 2016 and 2025.
In February 2025, Curry drained 12 of his 19 three-point attempts against the Orlando Magic, which is four fewer than the most he has ever attempted in one game.
He also scored 56 points – six shy of his career high – with 36 of those coming from behind the three-point line.
=5. Steph Curry
Just over a month passed before Curry again knocked down 12 three-pointers, against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Curry scored 16 field goals in the game, and only four did not come from behind the three-point line. He scored 52 points in the game as the Warriors won by nine.
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