If Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown are all on the floor, you’d usually expect a high-scoring duel with plenty of trips to the line. Except that was not the case in the April 9th, 2024, game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
Despite having several explosive scorers on the court, both teams combined for only two free throws the entire game. Unsurprisingly, the night wrapped up fast, with just one trip to the line.
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“Man, [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver’s the happiest,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “1:57 game time. My goodness, you can go to a game and still have dinner. Unbelievable.”
Giannis took the game’s only free throws
The contest ended with the Bucks winning, 104-91. The C’s were downright atrocious, nearly 30 points below their season average (120.6). Their deep shots were not falling, connecting on only 17 of their 52 attempts.
And of course, the referees were not bailing anyone out with free trips to the charity stripe. They whistled only four fouls from the Bucks and eight for the Celtics, leading to a pair of free throws by the Greek Freak at the tail end of the first quarter. Giannis made one out of two.
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With only two free throws attempted the entire night, the teams made history for the fewest free throws combined in an NBA game. The Celtics were also the first and only squad to never attempt a charity stripe shot in 48 minutes of game time.
The previous record was a combined 11 free throws by the Indiana Pacers (6) and Orlando Magic (5) in 2019.
That said, even Rivers did not realize the game ended with just two free throws until he saw the stat sheet.
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“I thought it was a physical game, and then they handed me the stat sheet, and I told them, ‘No, I need the full game,'” Rivers said. “I thought it was the halftime stats. I didn’t look at the minutes. And then I said, ‘Wow, two free throws for a basketball game. That’s crazy.'”
The refs were allowing more physicality
With just 12 fouls called all night, two explanations come to mind: either both teams dialed down their intensity, or the officials simply let them play. Tatum leaned toward the latter, suggesting the league was beginning to allow more physicality.
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“Maybe just gearing up for the playoffs,” the Celtics superstar forward said. “They’re going to let a lot of things go, I guess just getting us ready for playoff basketball.”
Was there any truth to JT’s observation? For the past several years, the NBA has allowed offenses to be freer than defenses, especially on the perimeter. It resulted in a game that often felt one-sided in favor of the ballhandler.
For years, defenders were penalized for even slight contact, turning matchups into boring, whistle-heavy affairs. But in 2024, that started to shift.
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“What we’re trying to find is this balance between skill and legal physicality,” Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s vice president of referee development and training, said. “And for sure we’ve made that conscious choice over the last 18 months or so to allow for defenses to have a fair shot provided they get to that [spot] first.”
Indeed, the 2024 postseason saw teams average only 20.3 free throws per game, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. The previous low was the 1973-74 season, which only saw 21.4 attempts from each team.
Oddly enough, nothing controversial happened in that particular Celtics-Bucks contest. There were no missed whistles, blown tempers, or anything of that sort. Yet somehow, basketball felt too clean for its own good.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.