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The Atlanta Hawks faced the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night in search of their ninth consecutive victory. This included De’Andre Hunter’s second leg, as the young Hawks forward had been out since Jan. 29 with a knee injury.
Despite a 22-point lead at the end of the third quarter, Atlanta was unable to secure the victory. The Clippers’ second unit embarked on a heated run that stretched from the end of the third quarter to the fourth, and Kawhi Leonard did the rest, leading them to a 119-110 victory.
Trae Young had 28 points and eight assists in the loss, while John Collins had 23 points and seven rebounds. Clint Capela had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Hunter had eight points in 20 minutes upon his return.
Leonard had 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the comeback victory, while Paul George had just eight points and seven assists.
Los Angeles got off to a good start as they led 9-2 and then 21-11 in the first quarter.
Atlanta went up to a 16-5 (9-0 to come out first) from there to take a one point lead late in the first.
The Hawks followed the Clippers by one point heading for second, but overall it was a solid quarterback as Los Angeles threatened to take a significant lead early on.
Marcus Morris Sr. leads all scorers with 13 points in the first quarter, while Young led Atlanta with seven points and three assists.
Atlanta went on an 11-0 push early in the second, holding a 41-34 lead at 7:45.
Young exploded at the end of the second, which turned out to be a 13-point quarter for him. The Hawks have extended their overall run to 52-27 since falling to double digits in the first quarter. They ended the half with a 15-5 run, largely propelled by Young.
Young led all scorers with 20 points at the break, while Collins and Capela both scored 10 points in the first half.
Leonard had 11 points in the first two quarters, while George had five points and three assists. Morris Sr. led the Los Angeles scorers with 14 points before halftime, while Ivica Zubac had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Clippers rode an 8-0 run early in the third, but a three-point play from John Collins at the rim halted the change in momentum, bringing the Hawks back 71-56.
A pair of Tony Snell’s buckets took Atlanta to an 80-59 lead at 6:29 in the third, their biggest lead of the game at this point.
Atlanta led 88-66 moments later, but a 13-0 push from the Clippers’ bench reduced the margin to nine points in the bottom of the third.
Luke Kennard caught fire at the end of the quarter, scoring 13 points in six minutes of play, including a half-court shot to end the quarter that reduced the Hawks’ lead to just eight points before the fourth, so that Atlanta only scored two points in the final four minutes of the period.
Kennard had all eight shots in the game and had 20 points in 18 minutes. Terance Mann was also huge in this comeback for Los Angeles, posting 21 points and ten rebounds off the bench.
The second Los Angeles unit continued to recover early in the fourth, as they came within four points of the even gash with the Hawks before the starters came back.
Leonard reduced the lead to four again with a catch and a field goal with 5:52 to go. The Hawks called the time out after the free throw with a 103-99 lead. The Clippers extended their run to 10-0 after the timeout, tying the score to 103.
Young put the Hawks ahead again with a deep three with 3:24 left, giving the Hawks a 108-105 advantage. Los Angeles responded with a quick 11-0 explosion to regain the lead, however. Leonard hit a dagger three to make the score 116-108 with 1:23 to go.
The Hawks couldn’t rally from there, losing 119-110. All in all, the Clippers outscored the Hawks by a 53-22 lead in the final 16 minutes.
The streak is over and they will travel to Sacramento for a clash with the Kings on Wednesday night.
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