NBA: Mavericks top Clippers in Jordan’s return to Dallas
DALLAS — DeAndre Jordan stood under the basket awaiting some Dallas free throws, the Mavericks pulling away late and most in the crowd of 19,805 loudly chanting a derogatory phrase at the Los Angeles Clippers center.
The fired-up fans finally got to vent over Jordan backing out on an agreement to sign with the Mavericks in free agency over the summer.
They also got a 118-108 victory Wednesday night, thanks to season highs of 31 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 25 from Wesley Matthews, the free agent who followed through on his pledge to Dallas.
Jordan — booed while warming up before the game, on every touch during it and every time he walked off the floor — had nine points and 11 rebounds with a minus-23 scoring margin while he was in the game.
“They’re obviously going to boo and heckle a little bit, but I thought it was going to be a lot worse,” the 6-foot-11 Houston native said. “Ultimately, we came out here to win a basketball game and that was it.”
Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 21 points, and Austin Rivers added 16.
A tight second half upstaged the sideshow of the return of Jordan, who was pulled by coach Doc Rivers during a critical stretch of the fourth quarter with Dallas successfully using the hack-a-Jordan tactic against one of the NBA’s worst free throw shooters.
Zaza Pachulia, the consolation prize at center after Dallas missed out on Jordan, made two free throws to put the Mavericks ahead for good at 108-106.
“Our guy’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. After pausing several seconds for effect, he added, “And we love him.”
Anti-Jordan signs were plentiful, of course, including one with a pair of flip-flops taped to it, offered to Jordan as a Christmas present.
Another read, “The only thing worse than Jordan’s word is his free throw.”
Sure enough, Carlisle ordered three straight fouls on Jordan midway through the fourth quarter with the Clippers holding a slim lead, even risking foul trouble for Nowitzki by having the big German commit two of them.
Jordan missed four of the six attempts — almost right on his 34 percent shooting for the season — and Rivers pulled his defensive force. By the time Jordan got back in the game, Dallas had gone in front for good. Jordan made three of nine from the line.
Nowitzki was 11 of 14 from the field, including a banked-in 3-pointer that looked like it was way off the mark but instead put the Mavericks ahead 113-108 with 1:05 remaining.
Jordan was booed during pregame shooting free throws, and cheered when he missed. Even when he touched the ball briefly on offense, the howls came quickly. And they grew loud whenever he kept it.
That was the hope of owner Mark Cuban, who slipped a couple of times during his usual pregame media session by using Jordan’s first name. Otherwise, he stuck with his mantra of not using Jordan’s name after the former Texas A&M player shunned the billionaire in the hours after changing his mind.
They still haven’t spoken, but Cuban is trying to sound as if he’s moved on — even though he said he saved the text messages from the saga that played out during the summer.
“It’s not like DeAndre and I pinky-swore,” said Cuban, who decided against showing several parody videos prepared for Jordan’s visit. “It’s not like we’ve been friends forever. It’s not like he broke some trust we had.”
WARRIORS 100, Grizzlies 84
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Andre Iguodala added 20 as the Golden State Warriors matched a franchise record for most wins to start a season with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Harrison Barnes added 19 points for Golden State, which won its ninth straight to open the season. Curry’s was 9 of 21 from the field, but only 3 of 10 from outside the arc. The Warriors finished shooting 41 percent from 3-point range, 11 of 27.
Marc Gasol had 26 points, Zach Randolph added 19 and Tony Allen finished with 15 as the Grizzlies lost their fourth straight.
The game was the first between the teams since the Warriors defeated Memphis 119-69 on Nov. 2, the worst loss in franchise history.
SPURS 113, TRAIL BLAZERS 101
PORTLAND, Ore. — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points in his return to Portland, leading San Antonio over the Trail Blazers.
Aldridge, who played nine seasons in Portland before leaving as a free agent this summer, added six rebounds. Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points for the Spurs, who won their third straight.
Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and nine assists. Portland has lost three straight.
Aldridge set franchise records for rebounds and double-doubles, while finishing second to Clyde Drexler in points. He was greeted by a mix of cheers and boos from the fans at the Moda Center.
HAWKS 106, PELICANS 98
ATLANTA — Al Horford scored 26 points and Atlanta rallied past injury-depleted New Orleans, which led much of the way but couldn’t hang on without Anthony Davis.
After trailing by 12 points in the first half, the Hawks pulled away down the stretch. Paul Millsap converted a couple of three-point plays to help seal the victory for Atlanta, which bounced back from a home loss to Minnesota two nights earlier.
The Hawks didn’t have to worry about Davis. The star center missed the game with a bruised right hip sustained Tuesday against Dallas in the Pelicans’ first win of the season. Horford took advantage by making 11 of 15 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Millsap was also a force, finishing with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Eric Gordon led New Orleans with 26 points.
NUGGETS 103, BUCKS 102
DENVER — Kenneth Faried rebounded Danilo Gallinari’s errant shot in the lane for a putback with 5 seconds remaining to give Denver a victory over Milwaukee.
Khris Middleton’s shot from the corner rimmed out at the buzzer as the Bucks lost for the sixth straight time in Denver.
Gallinari had 25 points to lead the Nuggets, and Faried finished with 19. Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay added 16 points and 11 assists for his second double-double.
Jerryd Bayless had 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Milwaukee.
Before the game, the Nuggets announced forward Wilson Chandler will have season-ending surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip.
RAPTORS 119, 76ERS 103
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and Luis Scola had 21 to lead Toronto over winless Philadelphia.
One year after starting 0-17, the Sixers have lost their first eight games this season.
Philadelphia has lost 18 straight games dating to March 27, 2015, the fourth-longest mark in franchise history.
Scola scored 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the third quarter.
Lowry, a Philadelphia native, scored 14 points in the first half, capped by a 27-footer with 0.9 seconds left to send the Raptors into halftime with a 63-57 lead. The Raptors built a 20-point lead in the third and left no doubt about the outcome.
MAGIC 101, LAKERS 99
ORLANDO, Fla. — Nik Vucevic hit a fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer for Orlando.
Shabazz Napier led Orlando with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and Evan Fournier added 16 for the Magic, who got 65 points from their reserves including 18 from Vucevic, who came off the bench for the first time in his four seasons in Orlando.
Magic guard Victor Oladipo left the game in the first quarter with a concussion and did not return.
Los Angeles, playing without Kobe Bryant for the second straight game, put six players in double figures, led by Roy Hibbert with 15 points. Rookie D’Angelo Russell added 14 and Larry Nance Jr. and Lou Williams had 13 apiece.
HORNETS 95, KNICKS 93
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cody Zeller scored on a layup off an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left for Charlotte and Kristaps Porzingis’ 3-pointer at the buzzer for New York was ruled too late.
Zeller had set a pick for Jeremy Lin under the Hornets basket, then alertly released to the hoop inside of Robin Lopez for the layup.
Porzingis then hit from 29 feet on the ensuing inbounds play, but officials huddled and ruled that he didn’t get the shot off in time after a video review.
Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with a season-high 24 points and Lin chipped in with 17 as Charlotte (4-4) reached .500 for the first time.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points, and Aaron Afflalo had 12 points in his regular-season debut for the Knicks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
PACERS 102, CELTICS 91
BOSTON — Paul George scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Indiana.
C.J. Miles had 17 points and Monta Ellis added 13 for the Pacers, who posted their fifth win in six games.
Evan Turner led Boston with 20 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 14 and Jared Sullinger scored 11 with 11 rebounds. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Celtics.
Boston was just 4 for 24 on 3-point attempts.
George, who had averaged 31.7 points in the last three games, fell short of his third 30-point effort in four games.
The Celtics sliced it to 90-87 on Turner’s turnaround along the right baseline with 7:28 to play, but the Pacers scored the next eight points to take control.
NETS 106, ROCKETS 98
HOUSTON — Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds to lead Brooklyn to its first victory of the season.
The Nets entered the game 0-7 and the Rockets had won four straight after opening the season 0-3.
Brooklyn scored six straight points to turn a tie game into a 99-93 lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Thomas Robinson led the way in that stretch, scoring four points highlighted by a dunk after a steal.
Marcus Thornton made a 3-pointer for Houston, but Bogdanovic hit one with 1:37 left to stretch the lead to 102-96.
James Harden led Houston with 23 points, cooling off after scoring 43 and 46 in the last two games.
The victory was Brooklyn’s first in Houston since March 13, 2006, ending an eight-game skid.
Joe Johnson added 16 points and 10 assists for Brooklyn. Brook Lopez had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
KINGS 101, PISTONS 92
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins had 33 points and nine rebounds, Rajon Rondo had a triple-double, and Sacramento beat Detroit to snap a six-game losing streak.
Rudy Gay scored 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter for the Kings. Rondo had his 24th regular-season triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.
Following a day of drama around the team, the Kings got a much-needed victory following a 1-7 start that was their worst since going 1-13 in 1990-91.
Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris both had 16 points for Detroit, which dropped its second straight game on a six-game road trip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 17 rebounds.
