Point (basketball)

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Points in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals (two or three points) or free throws (one point). The team that has recorded the most points at the end of a game is declared that game's winner.

If a player makes a field goal from within the three-point line, the player scores two points; if that player is fouled in the act of shooting, a made free throw turns it into a three-point play.

If a player makes a field goal from beyond the three-point line, the player scores three points; if that player is fouled in the act of shooting, a made free throw turns it into a four-point play.

See also

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Basketball is a ball game and team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Since being developed by James Naismith as a non-contact game that almost anyone can play, basketball has undergone many different rule variations, eventually evolving into the NBA-style game known today. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.

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