DALLAS – He dunked, he exploited mismatches in the paint, he sank more free throws than he missed and continued performing defensively the way he does routinely for the Clippers.
On his way to recording a season-high 23 points and his first 20-20 game of the season, DeAndre Jordan did everything Monday night to the Mavericks that the Mavs had hoped he’d be doing for them this season.
“He was awesome,” said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. “He was dominant, and that’s probably why they wanted him here so bad, the way he played. He’s a terrific player.”
Typically, Jordan’s efforts offensively go noticed by those on his team but few others, unless he’s throwing down an alley-oop.
The 20-point games come on the occasion, but Jordan came into the night averaging 12.3 points per game. When the Mavericks tried to pitch the free agent this summer, a bigger offensive role was part of the bait.
The Clippers, however, argue Jordan’s role offensively is already massive, even if it doesn’t always show up in the points column.
“That’s why I’ve always laughed at it in the past,” Rivers said.
Their reasoning is that Jordan already is an offensive force because of his ability to create action with screens and rolls. Rivers said other players can try to do the same thing, and it won’t make an impact.
When Jordan does it, it routinely makes an impact.
That much was obvious on the first play of the game, setting a pick to free J.J. Redick for the first of four 3-pointers on the night for the Clippers’ shooting guard.
But on this night, it wasn’t just picks and rolls and athleticism. There were dunks, as there typically are, but there was also poise on his touches around the rim and at the line. It’s a level of confidence which seems to be continually increasing.
“It’s a lot better than how I felt last time we were here,” Jordan said. “Obviously, the first game was a little crazy, which is cool. It makes for a better basketball game, a better environment. But, I just kind of settled down tonight and played aggressively.”
After the first quarter, Redick and Jordan had already combined for 16 points. By halftime, both players had 16 points apiece, with Jordan going 5-for-6 from the field and starting the night 4-for-5 from the line.
Jordan said he felt like he locked in early, which wasn’t the case in his first matchup in Dallas, a loss most people remember more for Jordan’s return than the final outcome. Redick joked the night was more a blur for him because he was on muscle relaxers and pain killers after getting hurt in the second quarter, but what he does know is Jordan looked much more relaxed in his return trip to Dallas on Monday.
That showed up offensively, defensively and at the line, where Redick said Jordan’s form still looked fantastic even on his misses.
Jordan said he was able to hone back in at the line, showing composure after some struggles in the second quarter, responding in the second half by going 5-for-6 on his free throws. Jamal Crawford said he didn’t want to jinx it, but he believes Jordan looks better at the line late in games.
“He locks in,” Crawford said. “I always tell him that. It’s just a different animal when he locks in like that, especially in the fourth. He’s doing in the big moments.”
When Jordan’s playing at that level, Crawford said there’s not a number the center has to get to. Crawford said Jordan doesn’t need a 20 and 20 night to rub off with his energy, but that’s exactly what he got Monday night.
There’s a reason the flurry of boos every time Jordan touched the ball or went to the line early on slowly dissipated as the night continued.
“Because he was killing it,” said Chris Paul, who said he’d forgotten about the Jordan drama until Monday morning.
Rivers added that crowd noise affects individual players differently, but in the end, noise is just noise, and Jordan gets that.
“You should embrace that and use it as a compliment,” Rivers said. “That’s good. When they don’t boo you, that means you must be really awful, you know what I mean? So I think it was good. I think he was clearly better.”
Jordan would agree.
“The first game was, obviously, a little weird,” Jordan said. “Now, it’s cool.”
