2015 NBA scores: Mavericks get on with life without DeAndre Jordan, plus 3 things we learned

The Mavericks beat DeAndre and the Clippers, Brooklyn got its first win and everything else from the NBA on Wednesday night.

by Satchel Price

Nov 12, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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NBA schedule and results: Mavericks beat Clippers in DeAndre Jordan’s return to Dallas

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The Dallas Mavericks welcomed DeAndre Jordan and the Los Angeles Clippers into their arena with a booing crowd, then pulled off the unexpected by beating them on the court, 118-108, on Wednesday night. The impressive win by the Mavericks gives them back some bragging rights for the time being after Jordan reneged on his agreement with the team over the summer to return to the Clippers.

Dirk Nowitzki delivered a classic performance in the game, nailing big shot after big shot en route to a season-high 31 points and his first double-double of the season. The most important play from the 37-year-old came late in the fourth quarter when he banked in a three-pointer with 1:05 remaining to put Dallas up by five:

Nowitzki shot 11-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc to lead all scorers. He may not be much of a defender at his age, but the forward showed Wednesday that he can still jab-step, drill jumpers and hit the boards like few others. Until the day comes that Nowitzki can’t rise over defenders, which has always been tough considering he’s seven feet tall, he’s going to keep firing shots up.

The Clippers, meanwhile, didn’t hit another basket after Chris Paul’s three-pointer with just over three minutes remaining. The Mavericks ended the game on a 14-2 run. For a team that clearly hasn’t gotten over the Jordan ordeal completely, it was apparent Dallas wanted to finish out this one on top.

Other standout performances for the Mavericks came from Wesley Matthews, who is still just eight months removed from rupturing his Achilles, and point guard Raymond Felton, who was a non-factor for Dallas in 2014-15 but has been forced into duty this season. Matthews had easily his best game of the season with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and six rebounds. Felton had 13 points and helped limit Paul to just 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting. It's hard to tell whether that's a better sign for Felton or a worse one for CP3, who did at least record 11 assists to make up for his scoring struggles.

The Clippers just couldn’t quite find their footing again after blowing an early lead, then faltered late when they needed to make stops and trim the deficit. For the Mavericks, it’s a chance to taste a little sweet revenge, although based on wins like this one the team might be aspiring toward accomplishing even greater things.

3 other things we learned

The Nets won't go 0-82 and the Rockets know how to lay an egg. Brooklyn avoided being the final team in the NBA to win a game this season by topping Houston, 106-98, on Wednesday night. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points, Joe Johnson dished 10 assists and Brook Lopez racked up 14 points, 12 reobunds and five blocks to snap the team's seven-game losing streak. Now the 76ers will eventually be the league's last team to get a victory. It's good news for Brooklyn, but for Houston, this game was a disaster. The Rockets shot 24 percent from three, hit just six free throws and got outrebounded, 60-45. A team this talented should never look like this on the fast break:

The Rockets are currently getting outscored by 6.7 points per 100 possessions this season, per NBA.com. The team might be talented and entered this game with four straight wins, but Houston definitely has some stuff to work out before it'll be ready to take on the Western Conference powerhouses.

The Pistons couldn't handle Rajon Rondo and the suddenly hot Kings. Continuing the theme of unexpected performances and upsets, the Kings' big three of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo came out of nowhere to beat the lethargic Pistons in a 101-92 win on Wednesday. Detroit might be an exciting up-and-coming team, but it was no match for a vintage Rondo expertly running the pick-and-roll with Cousins. The point guard recorded his second triple-double in a Kings uniform with 14 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.

The team shot 50 percent from the field and 56 percent from three. Cousins and Gay, who combined for 58 points on 35 shots, were also amazing. Sure, this was just one game, but after Tom Ziller wrote Wednesday morning that the Kings should consider moving on from Cousins, this was quite the showing from the team. Maybe there's some hope in Sacramento after all. As for the Pistons, we should probably temper expectations a little bit after an ugly road loss, although the team's fourth-quarter run to make the game interesting probably makes it easier to swallow.

Jahlil Okafor is racking up points but not helping the Sixers. There's been a lot to like about the performance of Okafor, the No. 2 overall pick, so far this season. He's averaging 20.6 points per game on 51 percent shooting. He's grabbing seven rebounds and blocking 1.6 shots per game. The big man out of Duke was very productive again Wednesday with 26 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the 76ers' 119-103 loss to the Raptors. The underlying numbers, however, reveal that Okafor isn't helping Philadelphia on the court nearly as much as the box score would indicate. The Sixers are getting outscored by 23.5 points per 100 possessions with Okafor on the floor, per NBA.com, which is one of the worst numbers on the worst team in the league. Even more concerning, the team outscores opponents by 8.2 points per 100 possessions when Okafor is on the bench. It's only eight games, but if you're looking at the numbers to begin getting excited about the rookie, it's something to keep an eye on.

Play of the night

Steph. C’mon. We see what the Warriors point guard is trying to do here by looking to draw the foul and get a trip to the free throw line. That makes sense. Except when Plan A doesn’t work out, he somehow corrals the ball while tumbling to the ground and fires up a wild shot. What’s amazing is not that it goes in, but that Curry making the shot is entirely believable. This is the team that makes the impossible seem possible. It’s because of plays like this, which happen again and again and again.