Los Angeles Clippers recorded the worst defeat in their history in the NBA when they fell by a difference of 51 points, 73-124 from the Dallas Mavericks at the Staples Center, Sunday (27/12).
Appearing without Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris, the Clippers could not provide significant resistance for the Mavericks. The Clippers are already 50 points behind, 27-77 at the end of the first half. The difference of 50 points in the first two quarters is also the biggest point difference in NBA history.
Entering the final two quarters, the Clippers were unable to do much. They finally recorded the biggest defeat in their history as a club by 51 points at the end of the match.
Luka Doncic became the biggest contributor to the Mavericks with 24 points, followed by Josh Richardson with 21 points.
In the Clippers camp, Paul George is the top scorer with a record of 15 points, followed by Serge Ibaka who gave 13 points.
This defeat was the Clippers’ first defeat this season after in the first two games they were able to win.
This defeat could also be a warning alarm for the Clippers’ ambition to become NBA champions. Without Kawhi Leonard’s presence, they became a fragile team.
Kawhi Leonard missed because he just got eight stitches in his mouth in the match against the Denver Nuggets, Friday (25/12). At that time, Serge Ibaka accidentally elbowed Kawhi Leonard when he was doing a rebound.
Team owner Steve Ballmer, masked and sitting alone in his usual baseline, witnessed the Clippers trailing 36-13 in the opening 12 minutes. Their fall continued in the second quarter, when they lost, 41-14.
The desperate scene became even more vivid as it was played out in the largely deserted Staples Center, where no fans attended the game because of the existing guidelines to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
That’s no excuse, said Paul George, noting that hours before the 12:30 PM Sunday morning information, he and others on the team were celebrating Christmas with their loved ones, having rescheduled the holiday for Saturday on an account of the team’s dates at Denver on Friday, December 25.
“I mean it’s always going to be weird but I think that’s an excuse we can’t use because we have to get used to it now,” said George, who played just 24 minutes, finishing with the team’s top 15 points. about 4-of-13 shots, with four assists and four turnovers. “We went through half the season last year without fans so … that’s not an excuse we can use.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue says there won’t be much point in reviewing game films either.
“You threw it away,” he said. “Back to what has worked and how we have worked and worked. Tonight our guys don’t have a lot of pop on either end of the floor and you can see that. “
Starting with a very lame first half of action, the Mavericks rolled to 1-2 and pulled some regular season revenge on the team that beat them in last season’s Western Conference playoff first round, a chippy six-game series in which the Clippers won Game 5, 154- 111 – which went down as the biggest playoff defeat in Dallas history.
On Sunday, in a first half that dominated the Mavericks, they shot 29 for 50 (58 percent), went 9 for 20 from 3-point range (45 percent), they overtook the Clippers, 32-16. They had 20 fastbreak points to the Clippers’ 2 and outperformed LA, 34-10, in the paint.
“We let them play their game like a walk, we didn’t make it difficult for them,” said Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who has 10 points. “We don’t pressure them. We just let them do whatever they want, and they do all the shooting, we don’t make anything. “
But what is most striking is not the NBA Mavericks ‘caliber result, but the Clippers’ incompetence: They shot 9 for 37 (24.3 percent) from the floor and 1 for 19 (5.3 percent) from deep in the first half.
It wasn’t, for what it was worth, the fewest points the Clippers had scored in the first half; back on December 14, 1999, the Clippers followed the Lakers 49-19 at the break (and then lost 95-68). And that’s not the smallest point in franchise history; The then Buffalo Braves lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 91-63 on October 21, 1973.
Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes and stayed on the bench, encouraging and teaching some of his younger teammates who closed the game. With reserves on the floor, the Clippers closed the contest competitively – losing in the second half by just one point, 47-46.
Overall, for the match, LA finished 26th for 76 (34.2 percent) of the field.
The Mavericks? They shot 49.4 percent – the same percentage they fought when they lost to the Lakers at Christmas. Luka Doncic led with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18.
“It’s been a tough one,” said guard Reggie Jackson, whose 3-shot with 5:41 to play gave the Clippers their 66th point, pushing them over the franchise’s 63-point mark. “Mentally, I hope you just delete this film, find a way to get better and watch the film, but understand it’s only one of 72 films.”
