The Dallas Mavericks faced off in what appeared to be an easy match-up against the Charlotte Hornets this past Wednesday, October 13, 2021. The one-sided battle took place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina where the Hornets were the unfortunate victims of a heartbreaking 127-59 point loss. Led by Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks firmly secured their third win of the 2022 preseason in hopes of having a shot at being crowned the new prestigious NBA Champions.
Porzingis has been limited for the past two preseason games as he was only in the game for one full half. However, the young athlete seems to have gotten back in his groove as he ended the first half of the game with an impressive 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals, extending his team to a confident 61-30 lead. He finished his 23 minutes of action with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. This was all accomplished with the help of his hard-working teammate Luka Dončić, who has also been the victim of decreased minutes. Despite his time on the court, the Dallas star still managed to give in his part by putting up a total of 10 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds, over the span of 26 minutes of action.
With this 68-point loss, Lamelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets have broken a new record in the NBA, being that they have now established themselves as the only team to equal the largest defeat that has ever been seen in the NBA. Social media was absolutely blowing up after the conclusion of the game as fans were immediately going to their Twitter accounts to start the inevitable memes. NBA commentator Mark Followill sent out a public tweet that stated, “The type of scoreline I’ve never personally seen in an NBA game, preseason or regular. Mavs led by 70 points late in the game! Mavs now go 3-0 in the preseason with a 127-59 win in Charlotte.” Beloved actor Paige Kennedy even wrote, “The Charlotte Hornets just took the biggest shellacking in NBA history, they were pulverized.”