Clippers at Mavericks
It promises to be a hostile environment for Los Angeles Clippers center
DeAndre Jordan when he takes the court in Dallas on Wednesday against
the host Mavericks. Jordan badly jilted Dallas during the summer
free-agency period when he agreed to a contact with the Mavericks and
reneged in the final hours.
Jordan hid out in his home in Houston as the signing period neared, ignoring repeated calls and texts from Dallas owner Mark Cuban while playing video games with some of his Los Angeles teammates. Hard feelings remain, and Cuban and Clippers coach Doc Rivers sparred in the media over the events in late September while Jordan claims he isn't the least bit concerned over the reaction he'll receive. "Nah, I don't care," Jordan told reporters. "It's cool. It's another game. It's going to be hostile but I mean, it's supposed to be." Jordan is averaging 10.1 points and 13.3 rebounds and had six points and 15 boards when the Clippers rolled to a 104-88 home victory over the Mavericks on Oct. 29.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (5-2): Point guard Chris Paul is dealing with a groin injury and had 14 points but only four assists in Monday's 94-92 victory over Memphis. Paul is five assists away from 7,000 for his career and he will be the fourth fastest - Wednesday's game will be Paul's 706th - to reach the milestone behind John Stockton (625), Magic Johnson (637) and Oscar Robertson (667). Power forward Blake Griffin has fueled the club's fast start by exceeding 20 points in every contest and is averaging 28.6 points and 10 rebounds.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (3-4): All four defeats have been by double digits, including a dreadful 120-105 loss to previously winless New Orleans on Tuesday. Dallas dug itself an 18-point halftime deficit and was 5-of-20 from 3-point range in an effort that greatly disappointed veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki. "Overall, just not good enough," Nowitzki said after scoring 18 points. "We had some great looks. We finished the (first) half brutal. We had to put some stops together, and we did not do that."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have won eight of the past 11 meetings.
2. Dallas SG Wesley Matthews missed all five shots against New Orleans and is 6-for-24 over the past three games.
3. Los Angeles backup SF Paul Pierce is 2-for-15 shooting over the past three games and averaging 5.4 points on the season.