Tag Archives: Dirk Nowitzki

Five things to take from Clippers’ 109-90 victory at Dallas

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Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

– After stumbling against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday at Staples Center, one had to wonder how the Clippers would do on the road in a hostile environment in Dallas. No problem. Down 52-50 at halftime, the Clippers outscored the Mavericks 33-16 in the third quarter to take control.

– There was more hate directed DeAndre Jordan’s way as Dallas fans no doubt still haven’t forgiven Jordan for snubbing the Mavericks over the summer, to re-sign with the Clippers. Jordan scored 23 points, pulled down 20 rebounds, made two steals and blocked two shots. He also made 11 of 19 from the free-throw line. That’s 57.9 percent. Jordan’s season percentage is 43.2.

– Chris Paul had himself a game. He scored 27 points, 18 of those coming during the third quarter. He outscored Dallas all by himself in that quarter as the Mavericks scored only 16 points. Paul shot 8 of 9 in the quarter, 12 of 18 overall. He also had seven assists and three steals and committed just one turnover in 28 minutes.

– The Clippers (41-21) helped hold the Mavericks (33-31) to 37 percent shooting overall, just 16 percent (4 of 25) from 3-point range. Of the Dallas starters, only Dirk Nowitzki shot fairly well. He shot 9 of 19 overall, but was 0 of 4 from beyond the arc. He finished with 22 points.

– On the down side – Paul Pierce (1 of 5), Jeff Green (0 of 5) and Wes Johnson (1 of 6) shot a combined 2 of 16. That’s not to mention Jamal Crawford took 15 shots – making only five – to score his 15 points.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 118-108 loss to the Mavericks

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DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

– In a game where the Clippers were not terrific on defense – the Mavericks shot 55.3 percent overall, 45.8 from beyond the arc – it was still surprising to see the Clippers outscored 14-2 over the last three minutes.

– DeAndre Jordan, the now-hated one in Dallas – didn’t seem to be affected much by all the boos and nasty signs held up by fans still peeved at him reneging on his verbal agreement to sign with Dallas over the summer before changing his mind to re-sign with the Clippers. He had nine points and 11 rebounds. His numbers would have been higher, but he sat for a lengthy spell with four fouls. After one dunk, Jordan screamed toward his bench and, perhaps, to the jeering crowd.

– J.J. Redick got off to a hot start, making a couple of 3-point baskets. But he went to the locker room with about two minutes left in the first half and did not return because of back spasms. That hurt the Clippers, to be sure. Redick scored 10 points but appeared to be on his way to many more.

– Chris Paul had 11 points on just 2 of 11 shooting. He was both poked and smacked in the eye in Monday’s win over Memphis, so perhaps that was the issue.

– The Mavericks are a much tougher team to beat when Dirk Nowitzki is on his game. He was really on in this one as he scored a game-high 31 points on 11 of 14 from the field – 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He also grabbed 11 rebounds.

DeAndre Jordan booed heartily in first half at Dallas

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DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

DeAndre Jordan had five points and eight rebounds in the first half Wednesday in his first trip to Dallas after spurning the Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban. Jordan had agreed to sign with the Mavericks, only to change his mind and re-sign with the Clippers in July. He was booed heartily ever time he touched the ball and the mean signs held up by fans were very present.

The Clippers took a 54-53 lead into the locker room at the break at American Airlines Center. J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 10 points, but went into the locker room with two minutes left in the half. His injury was knot known as of this writing.

Blake Griffin contributed nine points for the Clippers, as did Jamal Crawford off the bench.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 11 points and Wesley Matthews had nine.

 

VIDEO: Check out the rough play between Jordan and Nowitzki

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DeAndre Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas engaged in a brief tussle during the second quarter of Thursday’s 104-88 Clippers victory at Staples Center. Technical fouls were assessed to Jordan, teammate Blake Griffin and the Mavericks’ Raymond Felton. Here is the sequence that led to it:

 

Clippers take a 51-43 lead over Mavericks into halftime

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Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford each scored 13 points and the Clippers took a 51-43 lead over the Dallas Mavericks into the locker room at halftime Thursday at Staples Center.

J.J. Redick contributed 10 points for the Clippers, who shot 41.9 percent from the field.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 10 points. Dallas shot 36.2 percent.

Doc Rivers calls yet another DeAndre Jordan All-Star snub ‘a travesty’

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DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

When Anthony Davis (shoulder sprain) of New Orleans on Wednesday pulled out of the Feb. 15 All-Star game in New York City, chances looked good that NBA commissioner Adam Silver would select DeAndre Jordan to replace him. Instead, Silver picked Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki.

Jordan on Wednesday had his third 20-20 game in nine days, coming away with 24 points and 20 rebounds in a 110-95 victory over the Houston Rockets. It was his sixth game of the season with at least 20 rebounds. Rivers was not one bit happy with Silver’s decision. But he didn’t blame Nowitzki.
“Well, I don’t look at it as Dirk being selected over him, I just think D.J. should be on the All-Star team,” said Rivers, whose 35-19 team takes a two-game winning streak into the All-Star break. “I think it’s a travesty, I really do.
“Dirk deserves to be on the All-Star team every year, as far as I’m concerned. So you can never have anything against him. He’s been a great player throughout his career. I just think a guy that’s getting 27 and 22 and 20s and 20s and is not on the team …”
Jordan had 27 points and 22 rebounds in Monday’s win at Dallas. Rivers paused for a moment, and continued.
“What I keep saying about D.J. that I don’t like is, you play both sides of the floor and just the one side of the floor keeps getting all the credit, and not the other side of the floor,” Rivers said. “And the other side is more important. There has never been a team that won a championship without being a decent defensive team or a great defensive team.
“Yet that side keeps getting forgotten about in the All-Star game. I think every year they should put the best defender on. They put the best offensive player on, every year. They should think about putting the best defensive player on every year on both sides – East and the West. Then that would be solved.”

Jordan was just 12th in fan voting for frontcourt players and was not picked as a reserve by Western Conference coaches. Nowitzki was ninth in fan voting.

Jordan, in his seventh season, has never made an All-Star team. But he suggested he’s not going to lose any sleep over this latest snub.

“No,” he said, when asked if he was frustrated. “Next year I just have to average 20 points a game. I’m happy for Dirk. At this point, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve moved on. It’s cool.”

Jordan is averaging a league-high 13.8 rebounds and 2.35 blocks, second to Davis’ 2.74. But Jordan averages just 10.7 points and is a terrible free-throw shooter (41.4 percent). Nowitzki averages 18.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.