Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 93-90 victory over Oklahoma City

Here are five takeaways from the Clippers’ season-opening 93-90 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at Staples Center:

1. The win was all that mattered. Concerns about rebounding and erratic shooting cannot be overlooked, but all that will be remembered a week from now is that the Clippers won this game. They were able to gut it out against a scrappy but short-handed opponent to notch a victory that could be important to playoff seedings. Oklahoma City is 0-2 and will likely plummet after Russell Westbrook joined Kevin Durant on the bench with a significant injury, his fractured right hand in a cast.

2. DeAndre Jordan made a good first impression in his bid to win defensive player of the year. The Clippers center made an important steal and tipped Sebastian Telfair’s shot in the final seconds to help preserve the victory. Those are the kinds of plays that should earn Jordan more recognition throughout the league and put him in position to start winning the postseason awards that eluded him last season.

3. Steve Ballmer is a hoot to watch. The new Clippers owner was a ball of energy as expected, continually roaming the stands and interacting with fans. He reacted vigorously to seemingly every one of his team’s highlights, often leaping from his seat to pump his arms and constantly cheering. The Clippers seemed to enjoy his presence, particularly in the locker room after the game.

4. J.J. Redick made the only two shots he took that truly mattered. The sharpshooter had one of the worst shooting nights of his career, making only one of 10 shots, but he made two late free throws that helped the Clippers emerge with the victory. Redick recently admitted that having a baby in his house was making him cranky -- he was ejected from an exhibition game -- but nothing will make him more irritable than the kind of night he had Thursday. He missed two late three-pointers that would have given the Clippers a comfortable cushion. Instead, they had to sweat out the final seconds as Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

5. Playing the Lakers next is a bonus. Technically, the Clippers are playing four games in five nights. But their game against the winless Lakers on Friday should come with an asterisk because the Lakers are the NBA equivalent of a freshman team. The Lakers are the perfect opponent for the Clippers to continue working out all the issues that plagued them in their opener. Clippers guard Chris Paul said he would arrive at Staples Center early for extra shooting after uncharacteristically missing two free throws in the final minute against the Thunder.

Twitter: @latbbolch