Clippers’ five takeaways from win over Minnesota
Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad (15) passes to a teammate away from Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) during the first half.
1. Jamal Crawford just keep on making history.
This time, however, he passed one of the NBA’s legends.
Crawford scored 10 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night to pass Hall of Famer Bob Cousy for 89th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Crawford now has 16,968 points over a 16-year career.
“If you’re a student of the game, you see Bob Cousy always,” Crawford said. “To pass somebody like that, you can’t even put it into words. He’s such a legend. He’s one of the best players to ever play the game.”
Crawford said when he started his journey in the NBA, he never imagined he would reach a milestone like this.
“How? Like, it’s so far-fetched you can’t even grasp it,” Crawford said. “So you just try to stay in the moment and hope for the best.
“I think it’s God, obviously. Not having really any serious injuries. I think longevity. I think consistency. I think opportunity. It’s a lot of things that go into it. I just thank God. That’s incredible.”
2. If you ask Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, his center should be named the defensive player of the year in the NBA this season.
And to be honest, DeAndre Jordan has done more than just put up numbers to be considered seriously for the award.
Jordan is second in the NBA in blocked shots (2.3) and second in rebounds (13.9). He is fourth in defensive win shares with 4.9, according to Basketball Reference.com.
Then there are the games Jordan just intimidates opponents, making many of them alter their shots.
He had three blocks against Minnesota on Wednesday night.
One time after he blocked a shot by Ricky Rubio, Jordan yelled, “I got it,” right after the swat.
“That’s the want-to award,” Rivers said. “You’ve got to want to play defense every night and DJ wants to every night. So, he deserves it.”
3. Chris Paul scored 20 points and had 16 assists and eight rebounds, making it his 40th career game in which he has scored at least 20 points and handed out at least 15 assists, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2005.
4. It has been quite the month of March for Jordan.
He now is shooting 74.6% from the field, having made 85 of 114 shots.
Of course most of those are dunks, but he’s one of the best at that.
5. The Clippers had three players off their bench score in double figures.
Besides Crawford getting 10 points, Austin Rivers and Jeff Green also each had 10 points.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
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