With Chris Paul out, DeAndre Jordan and Darren Collison step up

DALLAS — With Chris Paul suffering a separated right shoulder, the Clippers needed some help from other sources.

They got it from center DeAndre Jordan and backup point guard Darren Collison in a big way in the Clippers’ victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Jordan scored a career-high 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting. He also had 18 rebounds and two blocked shots.

BOX SCORE: Clippers 119, Dallas 112

“DJ was great,� Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “DJ got deep post position, and that’s where he’s effective. If he can get them deep, he can score.�

Collison scored a season-high 20 points on six-for-10 shooting.

Collison played all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter after Paul went down in the third.

“Darren was terrific tonight,� Rivers said. “We just kept him aggressive. He obviously doesn’t see the floor like [Chris Paul]. There’s only one guy like that and that’s CP. But [Collison] has great speed and pace and he has a big heart. That’s what we needed tonight.�

Jordan said his job is to be a defender, not to score.

“It’s not really my first priority or second priority,� Jordan said. “I want to be the best defensive player out there. If I can go out there and control the paint for us and only have two points but grab 20 rebounds and a couple of blocks for our team and I play well defensively … that’s my only concern.�

Collison will perhaps have the toughest job going forward.

He’ll have to fill in for Paul while the All-Star point guard is out three to five weeks recovering from injury.

“It’s going to be tough because he’s our engine,� Collison said. “He’s our leader. He does a lot for us. But at the same time, this team is very talented. We have the depth to overcome this. We’re all hoping that CP comes back as soon as possible.�

Collison, who played for the Mavericks last season, wanted to show Dallas what it was missing.

“I didn’t want to leave tonight without making a statement,� Collison said. “You play 82 games in a season. You can’t say you’re motivated for all 82 games. You’re motivated because you want to win. But there’s always that one game that gets you ready, that you work hard for in the off-season, and this was one of them.�

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