DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul named to NBA’s All-Defensive first team

Paul, Jordan Named First Team All-Defense

Chris Paul, left, and DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday were named to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Guard Chris Paul and center DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday were named to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team.

Paul received 67 first-place votes and was voted to the first team for the fourth consecutive season, fifth overall in his 10-year career.

This was Jordan’s first such honor. He received 84 first-place votes. Jordan led the league in rebounds during the regular season with a 15.0 average. He also led in defensive rebounds at 10.1 per game and was fourth in blocks with a 2.23 average.

Paul was second in the league in total steals with 156. His 1.9 per-game average was fifth.

Joining Paul and Jordan on the first team were forwards Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and guard Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The second team is made up of forwards Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Anthony Davis of New Orleans, center Andrew Bogut of Golden State and guards Jimmy Butler of Chicago and John Wall of Washington.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 102-96 victory over Spurs in Game 6 at AT&T

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

– There is a song in the 1958 movie “Damn Yankees” entitled “Heart.” The lyrics include the phrase, “You’ve gotta have heart …” After this victory, no one should ever question the heart of the Clippers. They stared elimination in the face, and won. A loss, and all the wolves would have been out, wondering why the Clippers are going in reverse instead of forward. There is still a Game 7 to be played Saturday, but whatever happens, this team’s heart should not be in question.

– Kudos to Chris Paul. He missed all seven of his shots in the first half and although he still ended up shooting just 7 of 21, he was a big reason why the Clippers emerged victorious in this one. He scored 19 points, doled out 15 assists and played a game-high 44 minutes.

– Then there was the play of Blake Griffin. His body-language spoke volumes. It was as if he was not going to let this team lose. He scored a game-high 26 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, doled out six assists and for good measure blocked four shots.

Matt Barnes played a role in holding Kawhi Leonard to just 12 points on 3 of 15 shooting. Leonard scored 32 points in the Spurs’ Game 3 100-73 rout of the Clippers in San Antonio, so if he gets going he can be deadly.

– The only bummer to this game was that Glen “Big Baby” Davis sustained a sprained ankle at the outset of the fourth quarter. The hustle Davis gives the Clippers will be missed if he can’t make it for Saturday’s Game 7.

After trailing by 10, Clippers rally to tie San Antonio Spurs 51-51 by halftime

DeAndre Jordan

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

 

The Clippers trailed 45-35 with just over six minutes to play in the first half Thursday night in Game 6 against the Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

By the time halftime rolled around, they were tied 51-51 with San Antonio.

DeAndre Jordan led the Clippers with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the half. Hack-a-DJ was deployed by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, and Jordan responded by making 7 of 13 from the free-throw line.

J.J. Redick also had a solid half, with 14 points.

Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 12 points off the bench, all on 3-pointers. Kawhi Leonard scored 10 and Tim Duncan had six points and seven rebounds, but also had three fouls.

The Clippers shot 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 114-105 victory over Spurs in Game 4

Austin Rivers

Austin Rivers/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

– It was kind of ironic that coach Doc Rivers became a bit perturbed about being asked – once again – about the lack of a good bench at the pregame news conference at AT&T Center. Then his son, Austin, goes out and has the game of his life with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting while also playing solid defense. He did all this in 17 absolutely terrific minutes.

– Both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin said that without the younger Rivers, the Clippers would not have won this game. They are probably right. Then again, Paul and Griffin both had monster games. Paul scored 34 points and shot 11 of 19 while doling out seven assists. Griffin scored 20 points and was a beast on the boards with 19 rebounds; he, too, had seven assists. So you could also say that if either one of those two has a mediocre game, the Clippers don’t win this one.

DeAndre Jordan didn’t score much in this one, going for six points. But he had 14 rebounds and four blocked shots that helped the Clippers, setting the tone for a stronger defensive effort than in Game 3, when the Clippers were destroyed by 27 points.

– Another key element to this win was J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford getting their shooting back on track. Redick had shot 10 of 32 in the first three games, but shot 6 of 12 in this one for 17 points. Crawford was 12 of 34 the first three games, and shot 6 of 13 for 15 points in this one. Again, the Clippers needed every bit of that.

– If you’re a Spurs fan, don’t blame Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard or Tony Parker for San Antonio’s loss. Duncan scored 22 points with 14 rebounds, Leonard had 26 points and seven rebounds. Parker scored 18 points. The other two starters – Tiago Splitter and Danny Green – shot a combined 0 of 11. Splitter was 0 of 5, Green 0 of 6. All of Green’s misses were from 3-point range. Ouch! Neither player went to the free-throw line, either.

Clippers hold a 51-47 lead over San Antonio at halftime at AT&T Center

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

If the Clippers were still bummed out about getting routed by 27 points in Game 3 on Friday, they didn’t show it in the first half in Game 4 on Sunday at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Chris Paul and J.J. Redick scored 12 points apiece and the Clippers took a 51-47 lead into the halftime break.

Kawhi Leonard scored 11 for the Spurs and Tony Parker and Patty Mills 10 apiece.

The Spurs are up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Doc Rivers pulls no punches when talking about Spurs’ dribble penetration

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin scored a team-high 14 points in the Clippers’ 100-73 Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Clippers coach Doc Rivers on Sunday ahead of Game 4 was asked about the dribble penetration that played a big part in the Spurs’ 100-73 Game 3 victory over the Clippers on Friday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. He pulled no punches.

“Dribble penetration kills everything,” he said. “I mean, it really does. It creates offensive rebounds, it creates points in the paint, it creates 3s, it creates foul trouble. If you are allowing it a lot, you’re going to lose unless you are just having an unbelievable offensive night or they are just having a bad night of missing open shots.

“I thought overall their dribble penetration … Kawhi (Leonard) was great, but all of them were beating us off the dribble and when you watch the film, it’s pretty disgusting to watch.”