Basketball rules basics: FIBA vs NBA and reading a live score

Basketball is played by two teams of five, and a game never ends level: if the score is tied after the fourth quarter, five-minute overtime periods are added until one team is ahead. The two rulebooks you meet most often differ mainly in length and fouls. A FIBA game lasts 4×10 minutes and a player is out after five fouls; an NBA game lasts 4×12 minutes and a player is out after six personal fouls. In both, a free throw is worth one point, a normal basket two and a shot from beyond the three-point line three.

Every number in this guide was checked against the FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026, in force since 1 October 2026, and the NBA rulebook for the 2026-27 season.

FIBA and NBA at a glance

FIBA rules are used at the Olympic Games, the FIBA Basketball World Cup and in domestic leagues across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America; the EuroLeague also plays 4×10 minutes. US college basketball is a third variant worth knowing: NCAA men's games are played in two 20-minute halves, not quarters, so a scoreboard for those games has two period columns instead of four.

The shot clock: 24 and 14

A team that gains control of the ball has 24 seconds to shoot. The ball must leave the shooter's hand before the horn and then touch the ring or go in; otherwise possession goes to the opponents. That single rule is why basketball scores climb so quickly and why a late lead is never completely safe.

The second number to remember is 14. When the attacking team misses, the ball hits the ring and the same team grabs the rebound, the clock is not set back to 24 but to 14 seconds. FIBA and the NBA agree on this. Both rulebooks also use 14 seconds in certain frontcourt throw-in situations after a defensive foul.

Fouls: the personal limit and team fouls

Two foul counts run side by side during a game.

• Player fouls. Under FIBA rules a player who has committed five fouls must leave the game. In the NBA the limit is the sixth personal foul. A substitute comes on, so the team keeps five players on court, but losing a star to foul trouble often changes a game.
• Team fouls. Each team's fouls are added up per quarter. After four team fouls in a quarter, every further defensive foul on a player who is not shooting sends that player to the line for two free throws. This is what commentators call "the bonus" or "the penalty". The count returns to zero at the start of the next quarter.

Two details differ. In FIBA games, fouls in overtime are added to the fourth-quarter count, so a team already in the penalty stays there. In the NBA each overtime starts fresh, with free throws from the fourth team foul. The NBA also has a late-period clause: a team that has not used its four fouls may commit only one more in the last two minutes of a period before free throws begin.

Overtime: no draws

A tied score after four quarters means overtime. Each overtime lasts five minutes and there is no limit to how many may be played. Personal fouls carry over, so a player on four fouls in a FIBA game is still one foul from leaving. The one exception to "no draws" in the FIBA rulebook is a two-legged home-and-away tie decided on aggregate points: there, overtime is played only if the aggregate is level after the second game, so a single leg can finish tied.

How to read a basketball live score

Quarter columns and the running total

A live basketball score normally shows the running total next to each team, and beside it the points scored in each quarter: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. An example row could read 22-18, 20-25, 19-19, 24-23. The quarter figures are not cumulative; you add them up to get the total, here 85-85. The current quarter and the time left on the game clock tell you how much basketball is still to come. On ScoreMondo, today's basketball live scores are listed by competition, and each match page breaks the score down by period.

Half-time

The half-time score is simply Q1 plus Q2. In the example it is 42-43. Basketball swings fast, so a ten-point gap at the break is far less decisive than a two-goal lead in football. If you want to know what labels such as "HT", "Finished" or "Postponed" mean, see our guide to match statuses.

Why the last two minutes take so long

The clock on your screen may show 1:40 for what feels like ten minutes. There are good reasons. In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and of overtime the game clock also stops after every made basket, under both FIBA and NBA rules. Trailing teams foul on purpose to stop the clock and get the ball back after the free throws, coaches use the timeouts they have saved, and officials may review close calls on video. Each of these stops the clock while real time keeps running. The feed itself is not frozen; how live scores work explains what happens between the arena and your screen.

"After overtime"

When a game needed extra time, the scoreboard gains an OT column and the result is marked as finished after overtime, often shortened to AOT or simply OT. In our example an overtime of 11-8 gives a final of 96-93. The final score always includes the overtime points; the regulation score, 85-85, is the sum of the four quarter columns.

Following games on ScoreMondo

Open the live matches page for everything in play right now, yesterday's results to catch up on overnight NBA games, or the list of leagues to find a competition. Tap the star on a match or team to keep it at the top; alerts and favourites shows how to switch notifications on. For the numbers behind the score, how to read match stats is the next step.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a basketball game?

A FIBA game has 40 minutes of playing time (four quarters of 10 minutes) and an NBA game 48 minutes (four periods of 12 minutes). Because the clock stops on every whistle and there is a 15-minute half-time, expect around two hours from start to finish, and longer if there is overtime.

Can a basketball game end in a draw?

No. If the score is level at the end of the fourth quarter, five-minute overtime periods are played until one team leads at the final horn. Only a single leg of a two-game aggregate series under FIBA rules can end tied.

How many fouls before a player is out?

Five fouls under FIBA rules, six personal fouls in the NBA. The player must leave the game and is replaced by a substitute.

What does "in the bonus" mean?

It means a team has reached its team-foul limit for the quarter: four fouls. From the next defensive foul onward, the opponents shoot two free throws even if the fouled player was not shooting.