Nine years ago today, Kevin Love authored one of the most explosive starts in NBA history, scoring 34 points in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers to set the league record for points in an opening period. Love’s eruption helped the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 137–125 win at Quicken Loans Arena and remains a benchmark for early-game scoring outbursts.
Love finished with 40 points on the night, but it was his 34 in the first quarter, an NBA record for that frame, that defined the performance. He made 11 of 14 shots in the opening period, including 8 of 10 from three-point range, and started by hitting his first six attempts, five of them threes. He fell three points shy of the all-time record for any quarter, set by Golden State’s Klay Thompson with 37 in the third quarter on Jan. 23, 2015.
