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Clippers have a season high in alley-oop dunks against Miami Heat

DeAndre Jordan dunks in front of the Heat defense Thursday at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
(Michael Laughlin / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
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The Clippers returned to playing the type of basketball that earned them the nickname “Lob City” in Thursday’s 110-93 win over the Miami Heat.

They had a season-high six alley-oop dunks in the game, equaling the amount of combined dunks they had over their previous five games. DeAndre Jordan finished with 12 points, all off of jams.

“I think that’s rare, but that may not be for him,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said.

Jordan explained that for him, getting dunks is all about having synergy between himself and Chris Paul. Jordan said he closley watches Paul’s eyes at all times.

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“If he puts it anywhere up near the rim, I’m able to get it,” Jordan said. “Now we’ve got to start work on the low pass because people are trying to take away the lob, which we’ve had for so many years.”

The Clippers have received criticism in the past for being a high-flying, exciting team that’s too focused on showmanship instead of sticking to the fundamentals and getting the win.

Blake Griffin said that criticism isn’t going to prevent the Clippers from enjoying the lob.

“We’re not going to stop going to one of our highest percentage plays just because people say it doesn’t win us anything,” Griffin said. “I think they probably haven’t won anything either, really. If it’s there, we’ll take it. But, if it’s not, we’re not going to force it.”

For Rivers, it’s all about achieving a balance.

“We want to be a great halfcourt team,” Rivers said. “But we want to run every chance we get, and you have to be both.”

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