ATLANTA — Kawhi Leonard and James Harden lead the Clippers to a high scoring victory over the Hawks, 149-144
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden were the big stars tonight as they combined for 66 of the Clippers 149 points. Leonard had 36 points on 65% field goal shooting while Harden added 30 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
“We got stops down the end and scored the ball” Kawhi Leonard said “We executed on the offensive end down the stretch and was able to get it done”
In a game that saw both teams trade blows scoring the ball, it was a matter of which team could go on a run to separate themselves with a bigger lead.
The offensive brawl saw the Hawks take the lead 123-122 with a little over 5 minutes left. The Clippers responded by going on a 17-7 run to distance themselves from the Hawks. This allowed the Clippers to regain the lead 139-130 at about the 1:30 mark.
The lead gave the Clippers the advantage to continue their offensive fireworks to end the game on top. In the entire 4th quarter the Clippers scored a whopping 47 points to outmaneuver the Hawks.
In a valiant loss, the Hawks saw marque games from point guard Trae Young and forward De’Andre Hunter. Young tallied 25 points and 12 assists as Hunter came off the bench for Atlanta to lead the scoring with 27 points.
The success on Los Angeles came through their blistering hot shooting on the court. The Clippers made 21/35 three pointers on the night, along with a total 58.4% field goal shooting.
The Clippers improve to 34-15 on the season and are still within striking distance of catching the first seed in the Western Conference.
The seven game road trip comes to an end for the Clippers as they went 6-1 during this span. The Clippers will head back to Los Angeles on wednesday to face off against the 29-21 Pelicans.
