The Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record with the largest lead at halftime (50 points) to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-73 on Sunday. The 51-point loss was also the worst loss in franchise history for the Clippers.
LA was without star player Kawhi Leonard, who took an accidental elbow to the mouth by teammate Serge Ibaka during their Christmas Day game and received eight stitches as a result.
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The other half of the star Clippers duo, Paul George, scored 15 points.
The 50-point halftime deficit (77-27) is the worst since the previous 47-point record was set by the Golden State Warriors in 1991.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic was shy of a triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Dallas (1-2) will host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and the Clippers (2-1) will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Should the Clippers be worried?
Jovan Buha, NBA staff writer: No, the Clippers shouldn't be worried. Just like beating the Lakers and the Nuggets in their first two games didn't exorcise last season's demons, losing in a blowout fashion — an embarrassment, to be sure — to the Mavericks doesn't mean that something is fundamentally wrong. Had Leonard played, perhaps there'd be some cause for concern. But the Clippers have a history of not showing up in their weekend matinee games, including multiple home blowout losses last season. I'd more so chalk this up as a poor Leonard-less performance that compounded into a historic loss.
How does LA bounce back from this loss?
Buha: Playing the Timberwolves next — possibly with Leonard back in the lineup — helps. The final margin of the Mavericks loss was inexcusable, but the Clippers are undoubtedly a much worse team without Leonard, and that has to be factored into any postgame analysis. We saw them crumble under adversity last season, though, and that's the intriguing storyline here. With a difficult opening stretch of games to start the season, how the Clippers respond to this gut-punch will be telling.
Where does this rank in all-time worst losses?
Zach Harper, NBA staff writer: It's the 33rd loss of 51 points or more in NBA history. We had a 56-point loss happen a little over two years ago when the Celtics demolished the Bulls. So we've seen worse in history and we've seen worse recently. But this might be the most hilarious because of how fast it was. Down 50 at halftime and you can't even cut it by the end of the game? It's hard to improve your half-to-half margin by 49 points and still widen the margin of defeat.
(Photo: John McCoy / Getty Images)
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