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Jordan, Clippers hold off Spurs

Feb 20, 2015 - 7:34 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - DeAndre Jordan did his best impression of the still-sidelined Blake Griffin on Thursday night.

His woeful foul shooting, however, kept him from his third straight 20-20 game.

Jordan had 26 points and 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers held off the San Antonio Spurs for a 119-115 victory.

Jordan put down an emphatic Griffin-esque dunk late in the third quarter, literally throwing the ball through the hoop. After he stole a pass from Manu Ginobili, he finished off a 3-on-1 fastbreak when he received a no-look pass from Chris Paul and took off from the dotted line before thunderously tossing the ball through the hoop over Marco Belinelli.

The Spurs pulled the "Hack-A-Shaq" fouling strategy on Jordan during the middle stages of the fourth and the seven-footer missed eight of his 14 bonus shots during the three-plus minute stretch.

"I hate it, but it's a rule. It's part of the game," joked Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "It's a whole lot better than chasing Chris Paul around all day."

"Just embrace it," added Paul.

Jordan came into the game shooting 40.8 percent from the foul line.

San Antonio cut a 100-93 deficit to 104-101 with 5:46 to go prior to Jordan's departure from the game due to the fouling tactics. He came back in with 2:15 remaining.

After Danny Green's driving layup clawed San Antonio within 112-111 with less than a minute to go, Jamal Crawford swished a right corner 3-pointer with 32.7 seconds on the clock for a four-point cushion.

"At the end, we left Crawford alone," said Popovich. "We had bad mental mistakes. That killed us."

Marco Belinelli quickly answered with a left wing trey just over two seconds later and Chris Paul came back and knocked down a step-back foul line jumper with eight ticks left for a 117-114 margin.

LA head coach Doc Rivers elected to foul Manu Ginobili with 7.2 seconds and the Argentine sunk the first. He missed the second one, but J.J. Redick came down with the rebound and sealed the outcome with two from the charity stripe.

Jordan was 10-of-28 from the foul line in all, while Paul posted 22 points and 16 assists for the Clippers, who have won three straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak.

Crawford added 26 points off the bench in the triumph.

"Nobody can replace Blake, we all have to step up," said Crawford. I'm just out there doing my job. I feel I have a gift and I'm trying to use it."

Tim Duncan supplied 30 points and 11 boards and Tony Parker provided 21 points and 13 helpers for San Antonio, which has dropped two of its last four contests. It was Parker's first double-digit assist game this season.

Earlier, Crawford's jumper in the final second of the opening frame staked LA to a 27-24 edge, but San Antonio outscored the Clippers 31-25 in the second and led 55-52 at the break.

The Spurs shot just two free throws in the first half, with their first not coming until there was 1:22 left in the second. The Clippers, meanwhile, were just 10-of-24 from the charity stripe.

San Antonio began the third on a 10-4 run to create some separation. Kawhi Leonard, Duncan and Parker each hit a pair of foul shots during the surge, with the two from Parker capping it for a 65-56 margin.

The Clippers, though, answered back later in the period with a 14-2 burst. It was concluded on Jordan's slam for a 79-76 Clippers edge.

Jordan's layup in the waning seconds of the third gave LA a 90-88 spread.

Game Notes

DeAndre Jordan became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1961 to attempt at least 25 free throws in consecutive games ... The Clippers held a 56-46 points in the paint advantage ... Los Angeles tallied 20 points off 17 San Antonio turnovers.