Darren Collison fills in nicely to lead Clippers past Magic

By Broderick Turner

Jan. 6, 2014 12 AM PT

It is still early in the process for the Clippers to find out what they will be like without Chris Paul, but at least they can say they are 1-1 in his absence since his latest injury.

With Paul down with a separation of his right shoulder that will keep him from playing for up to six weeks, the Clippers turned to Darren Collison and DeAndre Jordan to lead them past the Orlando Magic, 101-81, Monday night at Staples Center.

Collison, who starts at point guard in place of Paul now, had a big night, scoring 21 points on eight-for-11 shooting and handing out seven assists.

BOX SCORE: Clippers 101, Orlando 81

Jordan did most of his work inside, offensively and defensively, coming up two blocked shots short of a triple-double with 14 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks.

Blake Griffin did his part, scoring 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.

“We’ve still got to survive this,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “This is a long stretch without Chris.”

Paul watched from the bench, enjoying his teammates as they put on a show that included making 11 of 31 (35.5%) of their three-point attempts.

“DC is very capable,” Paul said of Collison. “Blake has shown that with or without me, he’s a dominant force in this league. I’m not worried about us.”

It didn’t matter to the Clippers that they were playing a Magic team that has now lost four straight and has the second-worst record in the NBA.

What mattered is that they started the game strong, unlike their openings last week in Dallas and San Antonio, when the Clippers gave up 70 points in the first half to each team.

This time, the Clippers built a 26-point halftime lead, increased it to 35 points and eased in for the victory.

Even with the bad news about Paul, the Clippers keep getting good news about J.J. Redick, who has been out with a broken right hand and torn ligaments on the side of his wrist, and rookie swingman Reggie Bullock, who is out with a sprained left ankle.

Redick did some more shooting Monday during the team’s shoot-around, but Rivers said the starting shooting guard still is a ways away from playing.

When Redick was injured, his timetable to be out was six to eight weeks, which would put his return about Jan. 15 against Dallas at Staples Center or Jan. 17 when the Clippers start a seven-game trip at New York.

Bullock, who also has been practicing, said, “I hope to play Friday” against the Lakers.

Rivers said Redick is not shooting three-pointers, but was taking the ball “into the paint,” meaning the strength in his hand is not quite there yet.

“They are very close, both of them,” Rivers said.

“But that doesn’t mean they play Wednesday or Friday or next Wednesday. It means they are both close.”

[email protected]

Twitter:@BA_Turner