diff --git a/vicinity/backends/basic.py b/vicinity/backends/basic.py
index 682756f..e031abb 100644
--- a/vicinity/backends/basic.py
+++ b/vicinity/backends/basic.py
@@ -201,5 +201,5 @@ def _dist(self, x: npt.NDArray) -> npt.NDArray:
         x_norm = (x**2).sum(1)
         dists_squared = (x_norm[:, None] + self.squared_norm_vectors[None, :]) - 2 * (x @ self._vectors.T)
         # Ensure non-negative distances
-        dists_squared = np.maximum(dists_squared, 1e-12)
+        dists_squared = np.clip(dists_squared, 0, None)
         return np.sqrt(dists_squared)