NBA first quarter betting settles on the first 12 minutes only. Through 121 games of 2026-27, a team averaged 28.2 points in the first quarter, and the first quarter produced 56.5 points per game.
Those figures come from the ESPN line scores of all 121 regular-season games from October 20 through Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (ET), read on November 5, 2026. We computed every first-quarter number on this page from those line scores. That is a few weeks of play. Read the rates as early measurements.
NBA first quarter markets
The first quarter moneyline pays on the team leading after 12 minutes. A tie settles as the book’s rules say.
The first quarter spread, listed as “1st quarter spread”, gives one team points over the first 12 minutes. The bet settles on the score after one quarter, whatever happens after it.
The first quarter total, listed as “1Q points”, is the combined score of both teams after 12 minutes. Books may also post team totals, a line on one team’s first-quarter points.
The three-way first quarter winner makes the tie its own outcome, priced beside each team, and 6 of 121 first quarters this season ended level. Our 1st quarter 3-way guide explains how that market works.
What the first quarter has looked like in 2026-27
Six of 121 first quarters ended tied. In the 115 games with a leader after one quarter, that team won 69, a 60.0% rate.
Home teams led after the first quarter in 57 of those 115 games, just under half.
First-quarter totals ranged from 37 to 78 points. Full games averaged 226.9 points including overtime, in a set that holds 7 overtime games.
First quarter scoring by team
The table lists the four highest and four lowest first-quarter scoring teams, with games, points for and against, and first quarters won.
| Team | Games | 1Q points per game | 1Q points allowed | First quarters won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | 9 | 32.4 | 29.0 | 6 |
| Miami Heat | 8 | 31.1 | 32.1 | 3 |
| Denver Nuggets | 7 | 30.9 | 28.4 | 4 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 8 | 30.1 | 28.5 | 5 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 9 | 25.6 | 25.1 | 5 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 8 | 25.0 | 25.4 | 4 |
| Chicago Bulls | 8 | 23.8 | 35.9 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 8 | 23.6 | 26.1 | 3 |
The Los Angeles Lakers lead at 32.4 first-quarter points per game. The Chicago Bulls scored 23.8 per first quarter and allowed 35.9. Each team in the table has played seven to nine games. That sample is too small for any of these rates to predict the next first quarter.
These figures run through November 4, 2026. For game-by-game calls, see our NBA predictions. For the one-team version of the total, read NBA team totals, and for player markets, NBA player props today.