Gordon ups focus on drives

Guard Eric Gordon got off to a stunning start to the season with a drive and two-handed slam against the Warriors in the opener — a move and finish he reprised in the game.

But Gordon said he was not auditioning for the dunk contest in an effort to add that to last season’s 3-point contest win.

He does, however, plan to take the ball to the rim more often than he did last season.

“Teams want to run me off the line,” Gordon said. “I’ll just attack the basket like that. I just have to make the right play. That’s what I’m going to do.

“I showed a couple of flashes last year. I feel a lot better this year. I think this is a good year for me to excel even more.”

Through three games, Gordon is averaging 10 of his 22.3 points per game from in the paint. Last season, he averaged four points per game inside the lane.

“I do feel stronger than last year,” Gordon said. “Last year, it was all about just playing as many games as possible. Now, I’m just going to put it all together and playing

my real game. I’ve always been able to shoot 3s. Early on in my career, I used to take it to the hole a ton. This is a good year to put it all together.

“I’m going to be aggressive throughout the whole game. When I’m out there, I’m always going to be aggressive, that’s for sure.”

Coach Mike D’Antoni

said he has noticed more “bounce” in Gordon’s game this season but said Gordon did not appear to lack explosiveness early last season.

“He has a lot of bounce, I know that,” D’Antoni said. “He was unbelievable the first half of the season. He was real good the second half, but the first half he was unreal. Now, he’s unreal again.”