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THE ANGELS: The Dallas Mavericks achieved an NBA-record 50-point lead at halftime en route to a 124-73 demolition of a Los Angeles Clippers team that failed without Kawhi Leonard injured Sunday (Monday in Manila).
Mavs point guard Luka Doncic scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half, when Dallas essentially put him out of reach, taking a 77-27 lead at halftime.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the largest half-time margin in the NBA, surpassing the Golden State Warriors’ 47-point lead over the Sacramento Kings on November 2, 1991.
Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 18 for the Mavericks, who had opened the season with two losses, including a 138-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on the same floor at Staples Center on Friday.
“Obviously this was our best performance of all games, the preseason and the regular season,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
“We had uneven effort in the first two games. The boys knew it. They knew the caliber of our opposition today and they just decided they were going to be the team that played the most in the gym, “he added.
Paul George led the Clippers with 15 points and Serge Ibaka added 13.
But they clearly missed Leonard, who needed eight points from a cut to the mouth after colliding with Ibaka in the fourth quarter of a win at Denver on Friday.
Eight of the Clippers’ 14 turnovers came in the first half. They opened the third quarter on a 10-0 streak, but any momentum was short-lived for a team that, according to coach Tyronn Lue, “didn’t have a lot of pop.”
“I think a couple of early turnovers, we missed some shots, they came out and transitioned us early,” Lue said. “They had a lot of pop tonight.”
Lue, who took over as coach this season after Doc Rivers left, said he didn’t think there was anything to be learned from the loss.
“I think we threw it away, just go back to what has been working,” he said. “It is just an exception. It doesn’t take away anything we’ve been working on. “
The halftime margin drew attention across the league. Former Lakers great Magic Johnson tweeted: “I’ve never seen anything like this before in the NBA and the Clippers are home!”
Hornets give Nets first loss of season
Gordon Hayward scored 28 points as the Charlotte Hornets went red-hot in Brooklyn, giving the Nets their first loss of the young NBA season 106-104.
Terry Rozier, Hayward’s former teammate in Boston, added 19 points and PJ Washington had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who held the Nets to 42.7 percent shooting.
“Incredible win for us,” said Hayward, who joined the Hornets from Boston in the shortened offseason. “Especially after dropping the top two, coming out here back to back and beating Brooklyn, just proud of our effort, man, proud of our defense … We finally made it, it looked like he was on that extreme.”
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 29 points and Kyrie Irving had 25 for Brooklyn, which had become the first club since the Lakers from 2008 to 2009 to win its first two games by 20 or more points.
Injuries were having an impact on the league early in the season, which began Dec. 22 after the shortest offseason in NBA history.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were without star Karl-Anthony Towns for their showdown with reigning champion Lakers in Los Angeles, announcing before the game that he had dislocated his left wrist against the Utah Jazz on Saturday and would be evaluated weekly.
The Lakers did not have star forward Anthony Davis, who was suffering a calf contusion sustained in his season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and exacerbated in a Christmas Day win over the Dallas Mavericks.
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