Clippers center DeAndre Jordan will be a free agent this summer and he said after his team’s 111-80 rout of the Knicks on Wednesday night how much he “loves’’ the Big Apple.
But the 6-foot-11 behemoth played as if he wanted to burn down the Garden with his fiery act. Jordan, whom Clippers coach Doc Rivers talked up before the game as Defensive Player of the Year, blocked shots, rattled rims, talked trash and nearly threw Knicks center Cole Aldrich through the hardcourt during an intimidating performance.
Jordan had a monster outing, finishing with 14 points (7-of-7 shooting), 10 rebounds and five blocks. He scored most of his points on rim-rattling dunks as the Knicks let him get behind the defense for a series of alley-oops.
Asked if he’d consider joining a Knicks team despite its current 14-58 record, Jordan said: “I love New York City. I love the city. But right now I’m not thinking of free agency. I’m thinking about finishing our season off strong and focusing on the playoffs.’’
At one point in the second quarter, after new Knick Ricky Ledo drove to the basket, Jordan emphatically blocked his runner, then jawed at him for several seconds.
“I have nothing against him, no, I’m just trying to fire myself up,’’ Jordan said.
Late in the third quarter, Jordan threw down Aldrich after he got held underneath, picking up a technical foul. Knicks superfan Spike Lee tried talking to Jordan, pointing to the scoreboard, which showed the Clippers up by 39.
Why so much anger?
“I knew we had to come out with the right mindset and intensity in order to win the game,’’ Jordan said. “You can’t play the team record.’’
Rivers seemed intent on driving up Jordan’s market value before the game, as he advocated him for Defensive Player of the Year. Knicks president Phil Jackson, who doesn’t have one power forward or center under contract for next season, is looking to add big men to the roster.
Jordan has his limitations offensively, but was averaging 11.2 points, 14.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks entering the game while hitting more than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts. But Rivers said he’s so much more than statistics, especially on defense.
“The biggest thing is rebounding to me, rebounding is the key to defense,’’ Rivers said before the game. “If you get it, they keep playing offense. The other thing is his value at how many times guys don’t drive. There’s no stat for that. It changes your defense. He allows us to do a lot of things we wouldn’t be allowed to do if he was on another team. Forget all the stats that are still good for him. He changes shots, [limits] drives. He guards his own man and everyone else’s. Those things are huge for us. Nobody in the league does it better.’’
Jordan is making $11.4 million this season. The Knicks have just over $30 million in cap space available this summer. The only drawback is he’s not a post-up center, which Jackson likes for his triangle offense. Jordan also wouldn’t be a top priority if the Knicks were able to land Duke center Jahlil Okafor in the draft.
Knicks rookie Cleanthony Early, who had missed five straight games, returned from a sprained ankle and scored 18 points.
It was a tough outing for Ledo, who shot 5-of-14 for 12 points, but with seven turnovers.
Tim Hardaway Jr. could return by Saturday in Chicago from a wrist sprain. Alexey Shved, however, is still in a lot of pain, having trouble breathing, from his bruised ribs suffered Sunday in Toronto. Shved missed his second straight game.
Knicks coach Derek Fisher, unsolicited, said Clippers point guard Chris Paul should be in the MVP conversation. Paul notched 16 assists and four steals along with 11 points.