The Atlanta Hawks blew out the Los Angeles Clippers in impressive fashion on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena. Atlanta came into this game as heavy underdogs, but their defense and transition scoring were key in the 110-93 victory. This win is a huge bounce back after two disappointing losses against the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz.
Clint Capela went to work in the paint early scoring Atlanta’s first six points, while Kawhi Leonard had the Clippers’ first five. Early on, Vit Krejčí blocked James Harden’s floater, which led to an alley-oop slam from Jalen Johnson. The Hawks grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first five minutes as Capela outworked Ivica Zubac down low. One of them resulted in an impressive no-dip three from Johnson. Garrison Mathews had an impact early when he drew a charge on Harden and hit a three on the other end as Atlanta went up 27-22. Leonard kept the Clippers close with a four-point play to give him 17 first-quarter points. After 12 minutes, the Hawks held a slight 31-29 advantage. Both squads shot over 50% from the field and beyond the arc.
Atlanta put together an 8-0 run early in the second that included a great Bruno Fernando outlet pass to Johnson for a smooth and-one reverse layup. Los Angeles missed its first six shots before Terance Mann knocked down a three. In an impressive sequence, De’Andre Hunter emphatically rejected Daniel Theis’ dunk attempt, sprinted to the other end and dunked home Johnson’s full-court pass. This gave the Hawks a 44-34 lead. Atlanta’s success came when Bogdan Bogdanović, Hunter and Johnson shared the court. Wes Matthews entered the rotation and immediately stepped up, converting on two triples in three minutes during a second 8-0 Hawks’ run. Atlanta ballooned the lead to 57-40 and held the Clippers to just two points in over five minutes. The Hawks grabbed a 61-44 lead heading into halftime. Capela posted a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Hunter and Bogdanović scored 10 and 11, respectively. The Hawks forced 10 turnovers and their defense held Los Angeles to 15 second-quarter points.
Dejounte Murray came out hot in the third quarter, making back-to-back threes to extend Atlanta’s advantage to 73-53. As a team, the Hawks shot 4-6 from beyond the arc to start the second half, including three triples courtesy of Murray. They put together a 12-0 run to blow the game open. Atlanta’s defense was on lockdown, jumping passing lanes and keeping the Clippers out of the paint. Los Angeles shot 3-15 from the field to start the frame. In even more impressive fashion, the Hawks did not allow a Clippers’ field goal in the final 8:56 seconds of the frame. Atlanta took control with an 88-62 lead, winning the quarter 27-18.
After going scoreless in the first 36 minutes, Harden broke Los Angeles’ field goal drought with an and-one bucket. When P.J. Tucker dove for a loose ball resulting in a Harden triple, it felt like the Clippers created momentum for the first time in the second half. However, this sequence only cut the deficit to 20. Shortly after, Krejčí found Jonhson on a dive to the rim for a dunk to silence the crowd. Los Angeles cut the Hawks’ lead to 100-86, but Amir Coffey missed an open corner three. On the other end, Johnson cashed in his third triple to cement Atlanta’s victory.
Murray totaled 21 points and 10 assists, and Hunter continued his strong run with 20 points. Johnson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Capela blocked two shots and put up a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Bogdanović added 11.
Leonard and Paul George were the only double-digit scorers for the Clippers. Leonard finished with 28 points, while George scored 26.
This impressive Hawks’ victory was the first night of a back-to-back in Los Angeles. Atlanta takes on the Lakers on Monday night for the “L.A. sweep.”
