Mavs destroy Clippers to earn first win of season
LOS ANGELES » Luka Doncic scored 24 points and the Dallas Mavericks led by a NBArecord 50 points at halftime in a 124-73 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday to earn their first win of the season.
Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points for the Mavs, who kept up their dominance in the second half, too.
The Clippers trailed 77
27 at halftime, with their
50-point deficit being the largest at the break in the shot-clock era, which began in 1954-55.
Paul George led the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers with
15 points before sitting out the second half. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and nine rebounds over three quarters of the team’s first loss. The Clippers began with victories over the defending NBA champion Lakers and Denver .
os Angeles got outrebounded 32-16, had just three assists, and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers in the first half. George was the only Clipper in double figures with 13 after missing all six of his 3-point attempts.
Doncic had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the first half. He scored as many points (13) as the Clippers in the first quarter. The Mavs scored nearly every time down the court while forcing the Clippers into 9 of 37 field-goal shooting.
HORNETS 106, NETS104 » Gordon Hayward had 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets handed the Brooklyn Nets their first loss of the season, 106-104 on Sunday night.
Terry Rozier added 19 points, including two clutch free throws, and P.J. Washington finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who limited the Nets to 42.7% shooting from the floor.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 29 points, and Kyrie Irving chipped in with 25 points.
Hayward, acquired in a sign-and-trade this offseason with Boston, contributed in all phases — making 12 of 20 shots, setting up his teammates for good scoring opportunities with his playmaking ability and helping the Hornets escape from some potentially bad possessions.
The Hornets appeared to break open the game early in the fourth quarter behind seven quick points from Hayward.
But the 16-point lead nearly evaporated as Durant and Irving began to play with a sense of urgency and helped cut the lead to 101-99 with less than two minutes to play.
KNICKS 130, BUCKS 110 » Tom Thibodeau’s first victory as Knicks coach came surprisingly easy against a top opponent, as New York routed the Milwaukee Bucks 130-110 on Sunday night.
Julius Randle had 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Elfrid Payton scored 27 points in his best game as a Knick, and New York led by as much as 28 against the team that had the best record in the NBA the previous two seasons.
The Knicks were among the NBA’s worst during that time but are hoping for a turnaround under Thibodeau, the former Coach of the Year who engineered comebacks in Chicago and Minnesota. The Knicks opened his tenure by hanging with Indiana and Philadelphia for a half before those teams pulled away in the final two quarters.