Along with 20 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, DeAndre Jordan scored a season-high 23 points as the Los Angeles Clippers cruised past the Dallas Mavericks 109-90.
DeAndre Jordan is first and foremost the Los Angeles Clippers’ defensive anchor. He’s led the NBA in rebounds per game for the last two season while earning the best personal accolades of his career last season, adding All-NBA third team and All-Defensive first team honors to his name. However, when he can’t be stopped rolling to the basket, crashes the offensive glass and actually hits some free throws, he can make a significant offensive impact, too.
As the Clippers returned to Dallas on Monday night to face the Mavericks, Jordan was obviously faced by hordes of booing fans throughout the night. If you somehow missed it or have forgotten the drama that unfolded, there’s still hate towards Jordan after he verbally agreed to sign with the Mavs before reconsidering and singing to a four-year deal with the Clippers.
He rid the Mavs of their chance at landing a top-tier center and leaving free agency for the better. However, now that the summer of DeAndre’s drama is long gone, games like those on Monday night, when Dallas was subjected to Jordan’s interior dominance, were a painful reminder of what they missed out on.
Besides grabbing 20 rebounds to go along with two steals and two blocks, Jordan scored a season-high 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting to give himself his first 20-20 game of 2015-16.
On top of that, he faired reasonably well as the Mavs persistently used the hack-a-Shaq strategy, sending him to the line 19 times as he walked away with 11 makes, a prolific amount by his standards.
Simply put, Jordan was dominant. His aerial dunking assault couldn’t be stopped and Chris Paul executed so well around the Mavs’ lost defense, creating his own shot (with 18 points in the third quarter alone and 27 for the game) and freeing up others throughout the night.
The Clippers cruised past with Jordan as a key reason why. It’s no surprise that Mavs fans booed and left early, while head coach Rick Carlisle and Chandler Parsons both made some comments on the matter.
Rick Carlisle after DeAndre Jordan's 23-point, 20-rebound night: "Now you know why we wanted him."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 8, 2016
Parsons in particular sounded rather bitter about the matter, even if he did say that you can’t blame Jordan for choosing the Clippers over the Mavericks (per Tim MacMahon of ESPN):
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"“It’s frustrating,” Parsons said after Jordan put up 23 points and 20 rebounds in the Clippers’ rout of the Mavs. “I still think he would have been much better here, but he’s having a good year and he’s on a very good team that’s going to make a run, so you can’t blame him for that. He didn’t do anything illegal, and he’s playing well.”"
After contests like the one on Monday, where Dallas witnessed first-hand what they missed out on again, it’s no surprise that Parsons insists that Jordan would somehow be better off with the Mavs.
The Mavericks will have to just hold onto the fact that they’ve exceeded expectations this season as they rank 6th in the Western Conference at 33-31. On the other hand, the Clippers sit 4th at 41-21, a mere two wins behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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It’s safe to say that Jordan will be happy with his decision to stay put in Los Angeles.