LOS ANGELES – The Clippers finally have done it.

No, it’s not just winning a game against a playoff-bound team – they’ve done that already. No, it’s not putting together a dominant performance – they’ve done that too.

Saturday afternoon at Staples Center, the Clippers finally dominated a playoff team on their home floor, dismantling the Dallas Mavericks 120-100.

For the Clippers, it’s two straight games of, gulp, looking like the team people expected and hoped for.

“I just think this is the team that everyone thought we would be,” Clippers forward Matt Barnes said. “It just took a little bit of time to get going. It’s only two games, but I think we’ve learned a lot. We really see what’s working right now.”

And, they’re seeing it on both ends of the floor.

On offense, it starts with what Clippers coach Doc Rivers described as “pace” and “force.”

“One thing we’re starting to do well is the ball movement, the quick decisions, the playing downhill,” Rivers said. “That makes us really good. When you have passers like (Chris Paul) and (Blake Griffin), it makes it hard for people to guard you.”

Saturday, Paul and Griffin combined for 19 of the Clippers’ 31 assists, with both players enjoying lighter workloads in the blowout win. Wednesday against the Lakers, the pair also had 19 assists.

While Paul’s assists numbers aren’t much of a surprise – he’s consistently among the league’s leaders – Griffin’s passing continues to be a major factor in the Clippers’ success.

“He’s been phenomenal. … He’s just such a weapon,” Rivers said. “He makes it very difficult to trap. He’s so unselfish. At the beginning of the game, their game plan was to trap Blake every time he caught the ball on the post. Usually, that makes you go away from the post. It made us go to the post more because we knew it would create a 2-on-1 and he’d make the right decisions.”

The selflessness on offense led to six players finishing with 13 points or more, with Griffin’s 22 tops on the team.

It’s happening on the other end of the floor, though, too, with the Clippers scrambling and fighting for loose balls and deflected passes.

The Clippers busted the game open early in the second half, thanks to their defense.

“Right after halftime, we attacked,” Griffin said. “We took advantage of some missed shots from them and got some easy ones, moved the ball. It was just the way we did everything.”

TRADE TALKS

The Clippers had the chance to be involved in a major trade, but ultimately the price was too high.

Boston small forward Jeff Green appears headed to Memphis, and like most small forwards on the trade block, he was on the Clippers’ radar. Green could have potentially been in a deal for Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford and a first-round pick – likely the Clippers’ 2019 selection – but that was a cost the Clippers didn’t want to pay.

But another deal involving the Clippers and Boston appears to be near.

The Clippers could be a landing spot for guard Austin Rivers – Doc’s son – who would be headed to Boston as part of the Green deal.

Austin Rivers will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and is currently averaging 6.8 points per game on 38.7 percent shooting.

When asked in the past about coaching his son, Doc Rivers has been clearly against the idea.

“I’m not a big believer in parents coaching kids,” Rivers said in December 2013. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I coach him when he wants and asks a question, but I kind of stay away from it. His love found the game. It wasn’t my love. It’s his love of the game, and I think that’s very important. Having gone through AAU, I can tell you parents should be parents and coaches should be coaches.”

But after Saturday’s win, Rivers acknowledged a change of heart.

“A year ago, I probably wouldn’t (have wanted to coach him), but I think I would for sure,” Rivers said. “I think this team could handle that. He’s a downhill guard, which is something we need. So, yeah, I certainly would.”

If the Clippers make a move, it won’t be because their competition in the Western Conference has engaged in an arms race of sorts.

“We would love to improve our team but we’re in no hurry,” Doc Rivers said before Saturday’s game. “We like our team now. And, if we can improve it we will. If we don’t, we don’t. What others do doesn’t matter to us a whole bunch. You have to keep your own house clean and see if you can better it. If we can, we will.”

The Clippers also were interested in Memphis reserve forward Quincy Pondexter, who will reportedly be moved to New Orleans in the three-team deal that sent Green to the Grizzlies.

Notes

Veteran official Joey Crawford left the game in the first half because of a knee injury, leaving two officials to finish the game shorthanded. … Spencer Hawes scored his 5,000th career point early in the fourth quarter. … The Clippers close a nine-game homestand Sunday afternoon against Miami.

Contact the writer: dwoike@ocregister.com