How Does Overtime Work in NBA Basketball?
When an NBA game is tied after the fourth quarter, the teams play an extra five-minute period called overtime. If the score is still level when that period ends, another overtime is played. The process continues until one team finishes a period ahead. Regulation quarters last 12 minutes, so overtime is much shorter than a normal quarter. The teams keep attacking the same baskets they used in the fourth quarter. They have a two-and-a-half-minute break before overtime, and each team is allowed two team timeouts during an overtime period, according to the NBA’s scoring and timing rules . Five minutes on the game clock can take longer in real time. Officials stop the clock when they whistle, and successful baskets also stop it during the last two minutes of overtime. The first basket does not automatically win: both teams continue playing until the period is complete.