The Atlanta Hawks recently swept their road trip, going 3-0, with wins against Cleveland, Houston, and Dallas. They came back home looking to earn another notable win against a contender, and they did just that against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Hawks led the Clippers, 31-25, at the end of the first quarter, but L.A. kicked it into gear in the second. The Clippers went on a hot three-point tear that helped them go up on the Hawks, 57-50, at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Clippers built on their clutch shooting from the second quarter to increase their lead to double digits. DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin got in the paint at will and showed why they have the nickname, "Lob City." Jamal Crawford, the former Atlanta Hawk, scored 18 points off the bench and went 3-of-7 from the three-point line and was perfect on his costless throws, shooting 5-for-5.
The Hawks built their own three-point streak in the second half and totaled 52 percent for the game. Atlanta received huge contributions from DeMarre Carroll, as he scored a game-high 25 points along with 10 rebounds. Carroll was on fire from three-point land, going 5-of-6. Al Horford totaled 20 for Atlanta. Dennis Schroder received the start at point guard for the third consecutive game due to an injured Jeff Teague. Teague still came off the bench and played 24 minutes. He added nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.
The Hawks wiped out the double digit deficit in the fourth quarter to go up by six points. The Clippers came back in the final minute and had the chance to cut the lead to one off of a fouled three-point attempt by J.J Redick. Redick hit two out of three shots. Kyle Korver secured the rebound off of the third attempt, but L.A. forced a jump ball instead of a foul. Korver won the jump ball, and Al Horford got fouled and hit one out of two costless throws. The Clippers missed a game tying three at the buzzer, and Atlanta pulled out its second straight three-point win.
The Atlanta Hawks now improve to 21-7 and are a half game back from first place in the Eastern Conference. Their next game is at home on December 26th against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Los Angeles Clippers have now lost two straight games and will face the Golden State Warriors on Christmas. The Warriors have the league's best record at 23-4.