Rowan Kavner
Score: LAC 97 – CHA 83
LOS ANGELES – Head coach Doc Rivers knew he needed to show patience with the defensive adjustments he made this year, particularly with his defensive-minded center.
Rivers said keeping Jordan closer to the rim rather than have him showing on pick-and-rolls initially made the center hesitant, but as games such as Saturday’s 97-83 win against the Hornets (17-19) have demonstrated recently, those days are in the past.
Jordan pulled down 19 rebounds and blocked four shots while adding 11 points, as the Clippers (24-13) stretched their season-long winning streak to eight games.
Next Game: 1/10
Tipoff: 12:30pm PDT
“He’s been great,” Rivers said. “I think our defensive changes kind of affected him a little bit. I don’t think in a positive way, early. But as it went on, I think he loves where he’s at and he’s doing it and he’s been great, so it’s real good.”
The Clippers won despite going 8-for-31 from 3-point range, doing so mostly with strong defense. Four of the five Clippers’ starters recorded at least one block, as the Clippers went on to finish with nine and hold the Hornets to 36.9 percent shooting.
Chris Paul added 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. J.J. Redick wasted no time keeping his shooting stroke going, starting the night 3-for-3 from long range and 4-for-4 from the floor while finishing with 17 points. Jamal Crawford added 19 points off the bench.
The Clippers’ starters helped pull away from the Hornets with a 15-3 run to start the third quarter after the Hornets went into halftime with their biggest lead of the game at three, outscoring the Clippers by 12 points in the second quarter to take the slight advantage.
In the end, the Clippers’ starters were too much, with four of them finishing plus-21 or better on the night.
Key Moment: It was still just a single-digit lead for the Clippers when the starters returned to the floor halfway through the fourth quarter. It didn’t remain that way for long, though as Redick scored five straight points. Rivers kept Crawford on the floor, and his first made 3-pointer of the game with three minutes left essentially sealed the deal.
Clippers Star: DeAndre Jordan – Jordan’s one of a handful of players to take his game to another level with Blake Griffin out, recording his seventh consecutive double-double Saturday, marking the NBA’s longest active streak. He also recorded at least four blocks for the 12th time this season, trailing only Hassan Whiteside in games with at least four blocks. On the offensive side, his rolling off picks for Chris Paul continues to be lethal.
Hornets Star: Jeremy Lin – It seemed his night might be over early after he was slow to get up midway through the day, but he was just getting started. Lin returned to the game and finished with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists, playing a game-high 41 minutes.
X-Factor: Chris Paul – After four straight games with at least 11 assists, Paul instead made his mark with shot-making against Charlotte, scoring a team-high 25 points and knocking down three 3-pointers.
Quotes:
Chris Paul on the pick-and-roll with Jordan: “It’s our fifth year together, and I think about the little slip-lob we always get now. Our first year, we couldn’t do it. I used to talk to him about it and stuff like that. That comes with games and familiarity. He’s just unreal now in setting the screens and knowing when to roll and when to pop. I miss him sometimes, which I hate, but he’s the best big in the league at that.”
DeAndre Jordan – “We have the potential to be a great defensive team. We want to, and we see what you have to do in order to be a contender and a championship team. You’ve got to be able to get stops down the stretch, especially.”
J.J. Redick – “For us to win, we had to embrace the defensive side of the ball, and we did that. Three quarters for them under 20 points, it’s pretty phenomenal.”
Notes: J.J. Redick scored 11 points in the first quarter, as the Clippers improved to 7-1 when he scores at least 10 points in any quarter of a game … Hornets head coach Steve Clifford praised Redick’s work ethic and said it seems like every year he adds a couple things to his game … Doc Rivers praised the Clippers’ ability not to have “the residual effect of bad play.” He said they’ve done a good job during the win streak snapping out of it after poor stretches … The Clippers don’t have much time to bask in their eighth straight win, as they finish their home back-to-back with a Sunday afternoon game against the Pelicans …