Through their first two games, the LA Clippers looked like a team on a mission, beating the Lakers and Nuggets behind a strong performance from their stars.
Sunday’s match against the Mavs, however, didn’t follow that pattern. Before the end of the first half, the Clippers were down by 50 points, marking the largest margin by any team at half-time in NBA history. They ended up losing the game by 51, with a final score of 124-73.
This 50-point lead by the Mavs over the Clippers is the LARGEST margin of victory at halftime in NBA History, via @NBATV
UNREAL pic.twitter.com/1X79M7l4jO
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 27, 2020
The Clippers were without Kawhi tonight, who suffered a pretty brutal elbow to the face during the Christmas Day game.
This had to hurt…
Kawhi Leonard takes a nasty elbow to the mouth from Clippers teammate Serge Ibaka. 😱https://t.co/Did2RcMEox
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 26, 2020
Still, fans weren’t exactly sympathetic and the embarrassing loss was only made worse by those who roasted the team on Twitter.
It’s Sunday, I’m not participating in this 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/6ViKujWRpB
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) December 27, 2020
This some 2k ish game sliders rigged. Up 50 at half
— D'Angelo Russell (@Dloading) December 27, 2020
Clippers better use all their timeouts and hope their opponents leave the match 😂
— David Aldridge (@BigROCHE22) December 27, 2020
I’ve never seen anything like that before in the NBA and the Clippers are at home!😳
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 27, 2020
Damn Kawhi must just be the best player in the world if he effects the Clippers like this…down 50 at half?! Jesus Christ
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 27, 2020
Clippers heading back to their locker room after breaking the NBA record for biggest halftime deficit down 50 points 💀 pic.twitter.com/snKo9ngjf0
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) December 27, 2020
Quick NBA aside: This is how valuable Kawhi Leonard is: Without him the Clippers just went 1-19 from three and trail the Mavs by FIFTY at half, 77-27. That's OK. They already crushed the Lakers and dominated the Nuggets in Denver.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 27, 2020
Me trying to figure out how many points the Clippers need to catch up. #Clippers https://t.co/V0L7f4HFir
— Miss Ann Thrope (@shunkeats) December 27, 2020
In the grand scheme of things, one game doesn’t mean a whole lot and this team is more than capable of bouncing back.
But in a time when the Clippers are trying to prove themselves as legitimate contenders, this isn’t the type of performance that helps them further their goal. Nevertheless,s we’ll see soon enough how they respond.
