Things went horribly wrong for the LA Clippers when they took on the Dallas Mavericks in a mid-afternoon game on Sunday. The team lacked confidence right from the tip-off and a Luka Doncic led Mavs performed a clinical job against their opponents who were unbeaten heading into the fixture. 

The Mavs flew down to LA and took home a 124-73 win from the Clippers and it can’t get any embarrassing than that. In fact, there was only a single lead change in the entire game which happened during the very first minute. 

After that, it was all about the Mavs as their attack flourished against a demotivated Clippers team. The 51-point difference at the end of the game marked Dallas’ first win of the season and their second-largest victory in franchise history. 

Let’s just say that the Mavericks were quite brilliant in the first half. They surged to a massive lead in the opening minutes which defined the outcome of the game. In fact, here’s a mind-blowing stat about how good they were in the first two quarters!

Factors that helped Dallas Mavericks thump LA Clippers on their home turf

A few important factors helped the Mavs clinch the massive win against their mighty opponents. The scoreline was exciting indeed, but it is even crazier to know that the Clippers lost on such a huge margin at the Staples Center, their home court! 

The Mavs’ first-half display was commendable and they controlled the game on both ends of the court. The game looked to be decided in Dallas’ favor as early as the first quarter due to their scoring run or rather due to the Clippers’ scoring slump. How did Dallas manage to inflict so much pain? 

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• Intense rebounding early in the game

The Mavericks were incredibly good in fetching rebounds not just on defense, but on the offensive end too. Players like Josh Richardson and Willie Cauley-Stein set the tone right from the start to direct the momentum towards their side. 

Seven-footer Cauley-Stein finished the game with four defensive rebounds and the team had 54 total rebounds when compared to the Clippers’ tally of 36. This is certainly a huge gap and the Clippers lacked the intensity when it came to staying strong near the board. 

• Full-Court Press

The Dallas Mavericks won the tactical game against their opponents with their defensive efforts. Their intense man-marking and lack of errors gave the Clippers a hard time on the court and it ended up tiring them out. 

Furthermore, head coach Rick Carlisle instructed the team to employ a full-court press against the Clippers which ended up working out in their favor. The Clippers struggled to get into the game due to the high-intensity pressing and the visible struggles caused them to give away 12 turnovers. 

The Mavericks applied pressure right from the inbound which tired out the Clippers after a point. They were unable to respond with buckets, which piled up their deficit. Rick Carlisle’s mastermind certainly won the coaching war against Tyronn Lue! 

• Capitalized on their opponents’ main weakness

The absence of Kawhi Leonard on the court exposed the Clippers big time. Their floor general wasn’t there to facilitate the plays or defend the board which helped Dallas gain the advantage. 

The Clippers looked dazed and lost on the court without Kawhi to lead them. Paul George didn’t fulfill his role as a facilitator and neither did the players who assumed the duty when George was resting. 

The Mavericks gathered so many rebounds due to Leonard’s absence from the game and they utilized the Clippers’ weakness to their advantage. The defense wasn’t strong and Dallas opened up spaces with ease due to the lack of pressure. 

At the end of the game, the scoreboard reflected a huge 124-73 win in favor of the Mavericks to cap off a historic fixture. Dallas also posted their first victory of the season by destroying the LA Clippers at the Staples Center.