Clippers’ Jordan Farmar has his best game of the season against Magic

In 10 games since joining the Clippers over the summer Jordan Farmar has underwhelmed.

He’s averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 assists in 14.3 minutes. Those numbers are well below his career averages of 7.8 points and 2.9 assists in 19.7 minutes.

But on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, Farmar showed glimmers of being the point guard the Clippers hoped they were signing in July when they agreed to a two-year, $4.2-million deal.

He scored 13 points on five-for-seven shooting and made all three of his three-point attempts in just under 18 minutes of play as a reserve.

Farmar’s relative breakthrough Wednesday came after four games in which he scored zero points.

With Farmer playing well against the Magic, starter Chris Paul was able to sit the entire fourth quarter. Paul played a season-low 30 minutes 12 seconds in the Clippers’ 114-90 win.

Farmar, a seven-year veteran, passed up a guaranteed contract worth millions in Turkey to play for the Lakers last season. When he decided to sign with the Clippers he knew he’d have some big shoes to fill playing behind Paul and taking over Darren Collison’s former role.

Collison averaged 11.4 points and 3.7 assists in 25.9 minutes a game last season with the Clippers. Farmar had similar numbers with the Lakers, averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 assists in 22.2 minutes.

Jordan struggled with a lower back injury early on this season and hasn’t quite found his rhythm yet. But on Wednesday, he showed that he can make an important contribution.

For Paul, the timing couldn’t be better.

The Clippers are playing seven road games over 12 days, an arduous stretch during which the starters are going to need all of the help they can get from their backups.