NBA Report: Atlanta Hawks take down Los Angeles Clippers in a 107-98 show down
The Visiting Atlanta Hawks did not have too much trouble in trouncing the Los Angeles Clippers for their 22nd victory of the season, 107-98 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. 16,750 basketball fans witnessed the great victory of the visiting team.
Three players scored more than 20 points for the Hawks. Joe Johnson who had one of his finest games against the Clippers with a team-high 29 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists as he dominated the court with his athleticism led the Hawks. Jamal Crawford poured
in 24 points. Josh Smith contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, who has won three of its last four games.
Five Clippers players scored in double figures.
Blake Griffin, known more for his whirling forays to the basket than his outside stroke, registered his 21st straight double-double with 31 points and 15 rebounds in the defeat. Baron Davis contributed 15 points, in the season’s twenty-fourth defeat of Clippers.
Ryan Gomes, Eric Gordon, and Eric Bledsoe posted 10 points for Clippers, who have lost two straight and three of five overall.
Game Story
The Hawks played flat and with very little fire on the defensive end for two quarters. The Hawks left it until late in the third quarter to make the blowout surge as they turned it up and started getting stops as they rallied from a 13-point deficit with
just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
"You can't give a team like that more possessions," Clippers "Their execution was better in the second half. The game came easy to us in the first half. We need to learn how to take our game to the next level,"
head coach Vinny Del Negro said.
Clippers raced out to a big lead 31-18 in the opening quarter, capped by Randy Foye's two buckets at the end.
In the second quarter, Atlanta tried hard and cut the deficit by two. Eric Gordon’s jumper and two free throws by Davis gave the Clippers a 53-42 advantage at the halftime.
The Clippers held a 71-58 lead with 4:13 remaining in the third when Crawford scored eight straight points in 12-3 run that cut the deficit to four 74-70 entering final stanza.
“We got off to a poor start in the first quarter.” "The message that I tried to give the guys during every timeout was to keep grinding." - Atlanta coach Larry Drew.
The Clippers led by 4-point in the third period. However, Hawks were back into the game with a 15-2 run. With Johnson’s Jumper, Atlanta led by a point for the first time in the game and the Hawks extended that lead six at 91-85. Atlanta rocked the court
for rest of the period.
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