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Is it bad luck to talk about breaking a NBA record in the middle of a game? Time will tell, but at the moment of this writing the Mavericks are up 77-27 against the Los Angeles Clippers at halftime.
That 50 point lead is the largest lead at half, ever. According to some brief research, there have been around 50,000 official NBA games since the league began and this is the first time a lead this large at the half has ever happened.
Mavs 77, Clippers 27 at the half. Per @ESPNStatsInfo, that's the biggest halftime deficit in an NBA game during the shot-clock era, which started in 1954-55.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 27, 2020
How does something like this happen in a NBA game? The Mavericks are shooting 58% from the floor and the Clippers are shooting a dreadful 25%. Dallas has hit 9 of 20 threes thus far whereas Los Angeles is 1 of 18. Only four Clipper player have hit shots at this point while every Dallas player to see the floor has at least one field goal. Luka Doncic in particular is carving up the Clippers, scoring 18 points, dishing four assists, and grabbing seven rebounds. The Clippers are without star Kawhi Leonard, but there’s no excuse for this level of play from a team with championship aspirations.
The Mavericks are unlikely to hold such a large margin, but after two challenging losses for Dallas, this half is an awesome reminder of how talented this roster is. Their highest scoring regular season game came against the Seattle Supersonics in 1987 as they poured in 151. They’re currently on pace to break that record. Let’s see where they end up.