Mavericks rout Clippers in record-setting fashion
Luka Doncic scored 24 points and the Dallas Mavericks led by a NBA-record 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.
“There’s no huge secret,” Richardson said. “We just got up and played well. We played with a sense of urgency.”
The Clippers trailed 7727 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.
Los 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 fieldgoal shooting.
“Everything was clicking on all cylinders,” said Hardaway Jr., adding that the team didn’t realize how big the lead was until they were in the locker room at halftime.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle emphasized staying consistent in the second half.
“The challenge is to maintain that level of competitiveness,” he said. “Our guys established a standard for collective toughness and will that we need to find a way to maintain.” CAVALIERS 118, 76ERS 94 >> Andre Drummond had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three steals to help Cleveland beat Philadelphia for its third straight victory to start the season.
Collin Sexton added 22 points and Darius Garland had 14 points and seven assists for Cleveland. The Cavaliers had the secondworst record in the NBA last season at 19- 46. They Cavaliers are 3- 0 for the first time since winning six in a row to begin 2016-17.
Tobias Harris had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia, which fell to 2-1 and played without center Joel
Embiid ( back tightness).
MAGIC 120, WIZARDS 113 >>
Markelle Fultz and Terrence Ross each scored 26 points and Orlando rallied to beat Washington for its first 3- 0 start since 200910.
Nikola Vucevic scored in the post to give Orlando a 114-113 lead with 25.1 seconds as the Magic scored the final 10 points of the game in beating the Wizards for the sixth straight game.
Vucevic had with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Evan Fournier added 19 points.
Bradley Beal had 29 points and seven assists for Washington. Russell Westbrook was held out for rest.
KNICKS 130, BUCKS 110 >>
Tom Thibodeau’s first victory as Knicks coach came surprisingly easy against a top opponent, as New York routed Milwaukee.
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.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks.
PELICANS 98, SPURS 95 >>
Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 11 rebounds and New Orleans held off San Antonio.
The Spurs had a chance to tie it after Steven Adams, whose put-back dunk put New Orleans up 9791 with two minutes left, missed a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go. But Eric Bledsoe blocked DeMar DeRozan’s 3-point attempt from behind in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
Zion Williamson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, scoring about half of his points on dunks. Lonzo Ball had 16 points and five steals.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points for the Spurs. They opened with two victories.
HORNETS 106, NETS 104 >>
Gordon Hayward had 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Charlotte handed Brooklyn its first loss of the season.
Terr y Rozier added 19 points, including two clutch free throws, and P. J. Washington finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 29 points, and Kyrie Irving had 25 points.
Late Saturday
TRAIL BLAZERS 128, ROCKETS 126, OT >>
CJ McCollum scored 44 points, including a 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime that gave the Portland Trail Blazers a 128-126 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Damian Lillard had 32 points and nine assists to help Portland get its first win. McCollum also had eight assists.
James Harden finished with 44 points and 17 assists for Houston, and Christian Wood added 31 points and 13 rebounds. Harden also had a gameending turnover on the final possession of OT.
McCollum finished 17 for 30 from the field, including 9 for 16 on 3s. Lillard was 5 for 13 from beyond the arc.
Houston has 16 players on its roster and entered Saturday with nine eligible, one more than the league minimum. The Rockets’ scheduled opener Wednesday was postponed because nine players were unavailable due to COVID-19.