The Atlanta Hawks gave the Los Angeles Clippers the fight Monday night to win their ninth win. It was especially the De’Andre Hunter return game, as the Falcons’ young forward has been out with a knee injury since January 29.
Despite a 22-point lead late in the third quarter, Atlanta was unable to secure the win. The Clippers’ second unit had a nice run that stretched from late in the third quarter to the fourth team, 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 scored 12 points and 14 rebounds. Hunter had eight points in 20 minutes in his return.
Leonard had 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the return win, while Paul George had just eight points and seven assists.
Los Angeles started well as they led 9-2 in the first quarter, then 21-11.
Atlanta drew a 16-5 (9-0 to go ahead) run from there to take a lead late in the first one point.
The Hawks left the Clippers one point behind on the second point, but overall it has been a solid quarter as Los Angeles threatens to rise early with a lead.
Marcus Morris Sr. scored all the scorers with 13 points in the first quarter, while Young Atlanta led with seven points and three assists.
Atlanta passed 11-0 early in the second game and led 41-34 at the point 7:45.
Young exploded late in the second, which turned out to be a quarter of 13 points for him. The Falcons extended their overall run to 52-27 as they fell by double figures in the first quarter. They finished the half on a 15-5 run, largely driven by Young.
Young led 20 points at halftime with all points, while Collins and Capela both scored 10 points in the first half.
Leonard had 11 points in the first two quarters, while George scored five points and three assists. Morris Sr. led the scorers in Los Angeles by 14 points before the half, while Ivica Zubac scored 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Clippers passed 8-0 early in the third quarter, but a three-point play by John Collins at the edge stopped the momentum change and sent the Falcons down 71-56.
A few buckets from Tony Snell put Atlanta 80-59 on the points ladder at 6:29 in the third, the biggest lead of the game up to that point.
Atlanta took a 88-66 lead a few moments later, but a 13-0 push from the Clippers bench dropped the margin to nine points late in the third.
Luke Kennard turned red hot late in the quarter and scored 13 points in six minutes of play, including a shot from the halfway line to end the quarter that reduced the Hawks’ lead to just eight points, as Atlanta had just two points in the last four minutes of the period.
Kennard made all eight of his shots in the game and scored 20 points in 18 minutes. Terance Mann was also big in this return for Los Angeles, with 21 points and ten rebounds off the bench.
The second unit in Los Angeles still struggled back early in the fourth series because they came so close to four points, not even with the Hawks before the starters returned.
Leonard cut the lead back to four with a 5:52 one-on-one basket. The Falcons led the free throw 103-99. The Clippers extended their run to 10-0 after the retirement and knocked the score to 103.
Young put the Hawks ahead again with a deep try 3:24 ahead, giving the Hawks a 108-105 lead. Los Angeles, however, responded with a quick 11-0 blast to regain the lead. Leonard hit a dagger try to make the score 116-108 with 1:23 ahead.
The Hawks could not pull together from there and lost 119-110. The Clippers outscored the Hawks 53-22 in the final 16 minutes.
The series is over, and they will go to Sacramento for a clash with the Kings Wednesday night.