Since the league started tracking individual turnovers during the 1977-78 season, only five players have ever had a game of 15+ points, 15+ assists, and 0 turnovers in an NBA Playoffs game. Let us look at these 5 NBA players to have achieved this impossible feat.
Players who recorded 15+ points, 15+ assists, and 0 turnovers in an NBA Playoffs game
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets/LA Clippers/Phoenix Suns)
Chris Paul is the first and only player in NBA Playoffs history to record 15+ points, 15+ assists and 0 turnovers game three times and he did it on three different teams. That mark has only been reached three other combined times in the 3-point era. He also led the NBA in assists four times and steals a record six times. (https://emdrprofessionaltraining.com/)
The first time that CP3 accomplished the feat was during the 2008 NBA Playoffs. He led the league in assists (11.6) and steals (2.7). The second time with 21 points, 16 assists, and three steals with no turnovers. And now for the third time, Paul contributed a 17-point, 15-assist outing with zero turnovers against Denver Nuggets.
Magic Johnson (LA Lakers)
Magic Johnson, regarded as one of the best point guards of all time. He has won three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular season assists four times, and is the NBA’s all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2.
In one of the last games he played before his first retirement, Magic became the first player to record a 15-15-0 game and notch a triple-double on the same night. The LA Lakers defeated Tim Hardaway team in the Game 1 of their 1991 Western Conference Semifinals series with Johnson’s own magical masterpiece. The three-time NBA MVP recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, three steals with no turnovers to lead the Lakers to a 126-116 win. The Lakers won this series by 4-1.
Johnson performed well during the 1991-92 season, with averages of 19.4 points, 12.5 assists, and 7.0 rebounds per game, and the Lakers reached the 1991 NBA Finals. There they faced the heavyweights Chicago Bulls in the finals. Despite scoring two triple-doubles from Johnson during the series, Finals MVP Jordan led his team to a 4–1 win. In the last championship series of his career, Johnson averaged 18.6 points on .431 shooting, 12.4 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns)
In the 2001 NBA Playoffs, Jason Kidd’s Phoenix Suns faced off against the title-contenders Sacramento Kings, who had some great match winners with the likes of Chris Webber and Jason Williams. With the series tied 1-1 in the best-of-five Western Conference first-round series, Kidd turned the game on his own.
The NBA’s leading assist man (9.8 apg) managed the Suns’ offense to near perfection in Game 3 with 19 points, 16 assists, four rebounds, three steals and zero turnovers. But the Kings were in top form that day, with six players scoring in double-figures to the Suns’ five, and went on to win the game 104-96, as well as the NBA Playoffs series 3-1.
The 2001–02 season saw Kidd lead the Nets to a 52–30 finish, a 26-game improvement from the season before and the first 50-win season in the franchise’s NBA history. He was also voted to the All-NBA First Team and finished second to the Spurs’ Tim Duncan in MVP voting.
Norm Nixon (LA Lakers)
Norm Nixon is a 2-time NBA All-Star. He won two NBA championships with the Lakers led the team in assists (9.0 apg) during the 1978-79 season. He is the second player from the LA Lakers to be on this list. Heading into game 4 of the 1979 Western Conference Semifinals, the Lakers were down 2-1 to the Seattle Supersonics. The Lakers needed someone to step up, and provide a match winning performance. Nixon took the responsibility.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar led the Lakers with 31 points and 13 rebounds, but it was Nixon who had an unbelievable game with 21 points, 19 assists and zero turnovers. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they lost to Sonics 117-115 in the closest game of the series that ended with Seattle winning 4-1.
Johnny Moore (San Antonio Spurs)
Over 520 games in his NBA career, Moore averaged 9.4 points, 7.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.96 steals per game, and a field goal percentage of 46.0. But he was a totally different player when it came to Playoffs. During the 1982-83 NBA season, Johnny Moore averaged 12.2 points and a team-high 9.8 assists per game for the San Antonio Spurs. And in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, Moore was an unstoppable scorer. He put up 27.2 points per game, second only to NBA legend George Gervin.
In game 1 of their NBA Playoffs series, Moore complemented Gervin’s 42-point with 24 points, 17 assists and zero turnovers in 34 minutes. Two other players, Gene Banks and Mike Mitchell, scored 22 apiece in a high-scoring game that saw the Spurs win 152-133. They won the series 4-1.Moore recorded 20 assists during three games in his career, once during the playoffs, making him one of only seven players to record 20 assists or more in a playoff game.