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Jordan, Paul help Clippers coast past Knicks, 116-88
Posted On Jan 24 2016
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The Knicks left space in the paint far too often this evening, and DeAndre Jordan made them pay for it. The Clippers center would make all 7 of his field goal attempts – all dunks – and finish the evening with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis got involved as well.
The second and third jams were off of lobs from CP3. 500 for the first time in over two months, but unfortunately at Madison Square Garden, the Los Angeles Clippers never gave the Knicks a chance to even be in the game. The Knicks closed out with 7-0 run and the first quarter ended with the Knicks being down 31-24.
Jordan scored 12 points and Paul, who played with a split lip after getting slapped by Lopez going after a rebound, distributed 11 of the Clippers’ 18 assists to provide Los Angeles with a 55-45 halftime lead. On the down side, Jordan snapped his 14-game streak of posting double-digit rebounds.
They made plays for each other that led to shots and six players in double figures in points. And the Knicks had trouble on the perimeter, too, as the Clippers shot 9-for-16 on three-pointers.
Jordan free throw shooting has been improving since opposing teams have been fouling him.
Forward Carmelo Anthony topped the Knicks with 16 points.
It didn’t help matters that his counterpart on the Knicks, Robin Lopez, was ejected for receiving two technicals in the third quarter. Paul Pierce and DeAndre Jordan each received a technical foul as well.
In a game where the New York Knicks came in expecting to compete they came out flat, and remained that way the entire game. Through the first three quarters he had the sort of all-around game he has been able to put together of late.
Rivers was just relieved to see it didn’t escalate the way it did so many times when he was playing alongside Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason in the early 1990s. I think the reward for coaching LeBron is you get scrutinized, it really is. He has been the guiding force as the Knicks have recovered from a season that wasn’t just a nightmare for Anthony, but for the entire franchise – the 17-65 record last season the worst in Knicks’ history.
