Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES – DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford have even more reason to celebrate the New Year.
Jordan became the first player since 1985-86 to score 3,500 career points while shooting at least 65 percent during the Clippers’ win on New Year’s Eve, while Crawford passed Peja Stojakovic for No. 9 all-time in career 3-pointers.
The Clippers’ center needed 11 points to hit the 3,500-point mark. It was only natural that he hit the mark on one of his best alley-oop finishes of the season, throwing down a monstrous jam to give the Clippers a 19-point lead in the third quarter.
“It’s cool. I’ve got a long way until I reach 37,000,” Jordan said with a smile. “No, I’ve just been fortunate. I keep scoring a lot of easy buckets being on a team with guys who draw a lot of double teams. Just got to keep it going.”
Jordan finished Wednesday’s game with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. It’s been a ridiculous month on the boards for Jordan, who entered the game having recorded at least 19 rebounds in consecutive games. He’s logged at least 10 rebounds in 29 of 33 games this season, which leads the NBA.
As for Crawford, he entered Wednesday afternoon in a tie with Stojakovic for ninth place overall on the all-time 3-point list. He moved into sole possession of the No. 9 spot with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers a 20-point lead and added another for good measure four minutes later.
“I couldn’t shoot it like Peja, that’s for sure,” Crawford said. “But I think it shows I’ve had great teammates, great coaches. I’ve been blessed with longevity, still in love with the game and I feel like I’m still getting better in areas. It’s just been fun. It’s been an incredible ride. I try to stay locked in the moment and look at that stuff one day whenever I stop playing.”
Crawford finished the day with 13 points and now has 1,762 3-pointers for his career. He needs 25 more to move into a tie with Rashard Lewis for eighth in NBA history. Even if he’s not focusing on it right now, Crawford’s always followed the history of the game and knows how special it will be when he looks back.
“It’s pretty cool,” Crawford said. “That means there’s only eight guys who’ve ever played basketball who have hit more threes than me. That’s pretty cool, very humbling.”
