The Hawks (27-20) could not defend home court last night as the Los Angeles Clippers (30-16) snapped a six-game losing streak in Atlanta despite the absence of All-Star forward Blake Griffin.
The matchup largely leaned on the teams’ defensive strengths, culminating in the Clippers’ Luc Mbah a Moute's shut down of an open Paul Millsap layup that fell off the basket in the final second of the game and left the score at 85-83, Clippers. Milsap missed two close-up layups in the final 10 seconds of the game.
“[It was] a hell of a move. I just missed it for whatever reason, I don’t know,” Milsap said. “I can make that shot of course.”
Even though the Clippers shot 38.8 percent and went five of 27 from three, they were able to overcome the Hawks' defensive strength, forcing 23 turnovers—leading to 17 Clippers’ points-- which allowed them to surmount the Hawks' 41.8 shooting percentage.
“If their whole team only had 85 points, any other night I guarantee that’s a win. They have a veteran team with Chris Paul at the head of the snake. … You just got to shake their hand and see them next time,” Kent Bazemore said following the loss.
The Clippers’ Jamal Crawford made a strong impact off the bench with 21 points, shooting 56.3 percent. Crawford, who leads the league in free throw percentage, sealed the game with seven seconds on the clock by sinking two free throws.
“This was a playoff-type atmosphere and a low scoring game against a team that beat us last year,so it was good to end the trip on the right foot,” Crawford said.
The Clippers’ Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, who have been red hot as of late, combined to make nine of 25 shots. Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan, who’s known to struggle at the line with a free throw percentage of 42, came in the clutch at the end of the game, making six of eight attempts.
“Big time, big time. It was huge. They stopped [fouling Jordan] after a while, and that’s only going to continue to give him more confidence. And that’s why we won the game,” Paul said.
The Clippers and Hawks seem to be headed in opposite directions at this point in the season. After the game, Paul said that his team is now working better together. When asked about the keys to what led to a successful road trip, he replied:
“Big communication, holding each other accountable. And we just talked a lot more,. There’s a lot more trust being built.”
The Hawks fell 91-111 to the Pacers in Indianapolis last night. The Clippers face the Lakers in the classic L.A. matchup Friday at the Staples Center.
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