Luka Doncic had 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record for the largest halftime lead in the shot-clock era in a 124-73 win at the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday afternoon.
Josh Richardson scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half for Dallas, which took a 77-27 lead into the break after shooting 58 percent from the floor and holding the Clippers to 24.3 percent, including 1 of 19 from 3-point distance.
The Golden State Warriors owned the previous record for largest halftime lead in the shot-clock era (1954-55), taking a 47-point advantage into the break against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 2, 1991.
The Clippers played without four-time All Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who suffered a laceration near his mouth late in Friday’s win against the visiting Denver Nuggets. Paul George scored 15 points and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles.
Charlotte Hornets 106 – Brooklyn Nets 104
Gordon Hayward scored 28 points as host Charlotte nearly blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter but held on to defeat Brooklyn.
Hayward helped the Hornets rebound from season-opening defeats to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder by making 12 of 20 shots. Terry Rozier added 19 points for the Hornets, who shot 44.8 percent (43 of 96). P.J. Washington posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Graham added 13 points as Charlotte outscored the Nets 64-26 in the paint. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points, but the Nets couldn’t get their third 3-0 start in team history. Kyrie Irving added 25 for the Nets, who shot 42.7 percent and allowed 23 points off 19 turnovers.
Indiana Pacers 108 – Boston Celtics 107
Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points and Domantas Sabonis converted the decisive layup in the final seconds as host Indiana edged Boston.
Sabonis recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds and T.J. Warren scored 17 as the Pacers won their third straight game to start the season. Doug McDermott tallied 16 points, Justin Holiday 13 and Myles Turner contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists but launched an off-the-mark 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play. Jaylen Brown scored 18 points, Payton Pritchard added 13, Robert Williams III had 12 points and four steals, and Marcus Smart added 11 points.
Golden State Warriors 129 – Chicago Bulls 128
Damion Lee buried a straightaway 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining to cap a Golden State rally that produced its first win of the season, a thriller over host Chicago.
Zach LaVine had a team-high 33 points for the winless Bulls, including 13 fourth-quarter points and a short runner that broke a 126-all tie and gave Chicago a two-point lead with five seconds left. But with all eyes on Warriors star Stephen Curry, who had a game-high 36 points, his brother-in-law, Lee, shocked the Bulls with a 25-footer that served as the game-winner for a team coming off consecutive blowout losses at Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Cleveland Cavaliers 118 – Philadelphia 76ers 94
Andre Drummond scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as host Cleveland breezed past Philadelphia.
Collin Sexton added 22 points, and Darius Garland and Cedi Osman contributed 14 apiece for the Cavaliers, who improved to 3-0. The last time the Cavaliers started with three straight victories to open a season came to start of the 2016-17 season, when they advanced to the NBA Finals.
Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 16 points, while Ben Simmons added 15 and Mike Scott 12.
Orlando Magic 120 – Washington Wizards 113
Terrence Ross and Markelle Fultz each scored 26 points to help Orlando overcome a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter en route to the victory over host Washington.
Evan Fournier had 19 points, and Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who started a season with a 3-0 record for the fourth time in franchise history. They previously accomplished the feat in the 1991-92, 1993-94 and 2009-10 seasons.
Washington’s Bradley Beal had 29 points, and Raul Neto matched a career high with 22 while starting in place of Russell Westbrook, who sat out the second leg of a back-to-back for rest purposes.
New Orleans Pelicans 98 – San Antonio Spurs 95
Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead three New Orleans players with double-doubles as the Pelicans won their home opener by defeating San Antonio.
Zion Williamson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Josh Hart had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Lonzo Ball added 16 points. The Pelicans held on as Eric Bledsoe blocked DeMar DeRozan’s 3-pointer in the final second.
Rudy Gay led the Spurs with 22 points, Lonnie Walker IV scored 16, Keldon Johnson had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Dejounte Murray scored 13. San Antonio was completing a back-to-back after beating visiting Toronto on Saturday.
New York Knicks 130 – Milwaukee Bucks 110
Julius Randle recorded a game-high 29 points and 14 rebounds as New York led almost the entire way in a stunning win over visiting Milwaukee to snap a five-game losing streak against the Bucks.
Elfrid Payton had 27 points and seven assists for the Knicks, who won for the first time under new head coach Tom Thibodeau. Alec Burks scored 18 points off the bench while RJ Barrett added 17 points and eight rebounds for New York, which shot 54.1 percent (46-of-85) from the field, including 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from 3-point range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who were just 7-of-38 from 3-point range (18.4 percent). Khris Middleton had 22 points while Bobby Portis (17) and Donte DiVincenzo (10) also got into double digits.
Phoenix Suns 116 – Sacramento Kings 100
Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Deandre Ayton recorded a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds, and visiting Phoenix rode a big third quarter to beat Sacramento in the second half of a weekend back-to-back series between the teams. Sacramento won the first game 106-103.
Cameron Johnson came off the bench to score 21 points, and Frank Kaminsky added 11 and Langston Galloway nine. Ayton’s 15 rebounds led all players.
Sacramento, seeking its first 3-0 start since the 2002-03 season, shot 10-of-23 from 3-point range Sunday. But committing 15 turnovers to Phoenix’s nine, and losing the battle for points in the paint 50-42, doomed the Kings. Buddy Hield led Sacramento with 17 points, Tyrese Haliburton scored 15, and De’Aaron Fox finished with 12.
Los Angeles Lakers 127 – Minnesota Timberwolves 91
Kyle Kuzma broke loose with 20 points, all in the first half, and Los Angeles overcame the absence of leading scorer Anthony Davis for the easy victory over visiting Minnesota.
LeBron James added 18 points and nine rebounds while playing just three quarters as Davis sat out with a right-calf contusion. The Lakers have won consecutive games in convincing fashion after a season-opening defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday.
Rookie Anthony Edwards scored 15 points and Naz Reid added 11 as the Timberwolves were unable to overcome the absence of leading rebounder and third-leading scorer Karl-Anthony Towns, who dislocated his wrist late in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
—Field Level Media
