Then they played cards: Recapping how the Clippers landed DeAndre on the river

DeAndre Jordan and the Los Angeles Clippers set Twitter ablaze on Wednesday night.

Jordan had verbally committed to signing with the Dallas Mavericks. Tales were told about him wanting to return home to Texas, how he had five dinners in a row with Chandler Parsons, and how Mark Cuban envisioned Jordan as a "Shaq-like" franchise player.

But thanks to the signing moratorium, Jordan's commitment to Dallas wasn't legally binding. So the Clippers sent a team - including Steve Ballmer, Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin and Paul Pierce - to Jordan's house in Houston.

They eventually convinced Jordan to officially sign a four-year, $87.7-million deal.

Owing to the parties involved (and to social media), every excruciating detail of the chase was reported. Every person's account of the tale - from Parsons to Cuban to Paul to Griffin - was made public, making for giddy hilarity among Clippers fans and feelings of bitter betrayal among the Mavericks'.

Here's a recap of everything that went down Wednesday night.

Clippers' meeting sparks emoji warfare

On Tuesday, reports emerged of Jordan's apprehension about the Dallas deal. With the Clippers having botched their initial pitch, Rivers mobilized his team to meet with Jordan on Wednesday.

Paul was on vacation, and had to cut short his trip to make it to the meeting. In response, Parsons sent out a plane emoji, indicating that he was trekking to Houston.

Then all hell broke loose. Several members of the Clippers responded in kind.

Of course, it was Pierce who stole the show by tweeting out a picture of an emoji. The emoji extension has not yet reached flip phones, it seems.

Wooing Jordan

The meeting between Jordan and the Clippers happened in the afternoon. By all accounts, it was a brief one. It seems Jordan had made up his mind to renege on Dallas and to re-sign in Los Angeles.

Jordan was returning to the Clippers and the Mavericks were left reeling.

After the dust settled, Jordan and the Clippers simply settled down and played cards. They later moved on to video games.

Playing House

But the moratorium was still in effect, so Jordan couldn't legally sign with the Clippers until 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday. So in an attempt to shield him from the Mavericks, the Clippers moved to shore up every door in Jordan's house as the crew waited for midnight to strike.

It seemed surreal while it was being reported. The Clippers couldn't actually be physically guarding the doors while the Mavericks waited outside, right?

Right, Blake?

Jordan wasn't being held hostage, much as it may have looked that way. He just didn't want to speak to the Mavericks, who called and called to no avail.

Concluding his trolling for the evening, Griffin rubbed a little more salt in the Mavericks' wounds:

The reeling Mavericks

As the clock ticked toward midnight, the Mavericks - who'd had no contact with Jordan - eventually came to terms with losing him, their offseason plans effectively ruined.

From their tears came the salt. First, a jilted Parsons chimed in.

Then, in response to some faulty reporting, Cuban's brother Brian lashed out.

Jordan's change of heart left the Mavericks with a massive hole in their lineup, without a center to anchor their defense or a major free agent left to chase.

They certainly weren't getting Tyson Chandler back.

Signing off and a bit more gloating

When midnight came, Jordan quickly signed. Pierce captured the momentous occasion with what has become his go-to line.

Bringing Jordan back cemented the Clippers as a championship contender. The move also convinced Redick to change his offseason grade for the team from F-minus to A-plus.

The entire ordeal even inspired a claymation movie.