Mavs Deliver a Historic First Half to Beat the Clippers 124-73

Luka Doncic with Real Madrid during Euroleague basketball match in 2018
Luka Doncic with Real Madrid during Euroleague basketball match in 2018. Photo by Nikola Krstic/REX/Shutterstock (9485782g)

After dropping two games to open the 2020-21 NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks bounced back impressively to beat the LA Clippers 124-73 on Sunday.

Mavs delivered a historic first half against the Clippers that saw them enter the third quarter with a 50-point cushion. This was the biggest lead in NBA history at halftime, beating the previous mark set by the Golden State Warriors. In 1991, the Warriors had 47 points against the Sacramento Kings at the half.

The game became more even in the second half, but the Mavs remained dominant and finished the game with a 51-point advantage despite playing the back-end of their rotation for most of the fourth quarter.

Dallas was led by All-Star Luka Doncic, who finished the night with 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists despite playing just 26 minutes. Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 and 18 points, respectively.

“We showed who we are,” said Doncic after the game. “People judged us off the first two games of the season. It’s a long season, but we’ve got to keep going like that. We’ve got to play defense. That’s our specialty from now on.”

It was also a historic night for Clippers, who were playing without Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris. Their loss was the biggest in franchise history, topping the 50-point loss to Seattle Supersonics in 1988.