It looked good, like a return to dominance. Then, suddenly, it looked bad, like a return to indifference. And that was just the first quarter.
The Clippers avoided such extremes for the rest of the game, but still waffled between acuity and lenience, ultimately leveraging their heavy talent advantage for a 111-96 victory that was in doubt for far longer than the score might indicate.
After wasting an 8-0 start and an eventual 14-point first-quarter lead fueled by four Landry Shamet threes, the Clippers capitulated to their visitors, allowing Charlotte a 17-4 run to close the quarter.