LOS ANGELES – Concluding their six-game road trip, the Hawks (17-22) fell to the Clippers, 106-93, Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
Next up, the Hawks return back to Atlanta and will host Miami Wednesday.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. Clint Capela missed this game after sustaining a left ankle sprain in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, and the Hawks felt his absence rebounding the ball, finishing with 43 rebounds (six offensive) compared to the Clippers’ 52 (13 offensive). Atlanta started Onyeka Okongwu (nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three turnovers, five fouls in 37 minutes) at center, alongside John Collins, Kevin Huerter, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Trae Young. The Clippers were shorthanded, missing Paul George (right elbow UCL tear), Kawhi Leonard (right knee ACL injury recovery) and Luke Kennard (health and safety protocols). Amir Coffey started for the Clippers and had a season-high 21 points, with Serge Ibaka adding 16 points off the bench.
2. This officially wraps up the Hawks’ six-game road trip, their longest of the season, which began in Chicago on Dec. 29 and took them to Cleveland, Portland, Sacramento and Los Angeles (facing both the Lakers and Clippers). After this trip, approaching the season’s halfway mark, the Hawks are five games under .500 at 17-22 and are still No. 12 in the Eastern Conference standings. They’ll need to make up some ground to get back into playoff contention in the season’s second half.
3. The Hawks got down 11 early in the second quarter, and though they fought to stay within striking distance, their shooting cooled off in the second half. Overall, this was an improved defensive effort, but they couldn’t combine it with timely offense down the stretch. They were held to 40 points in the second half, going 1-for-13 from 3-point range (7-26, or 26.9% from 3 overall).
“I thought overall, our defensive effort was good,” said assistant coach Chris Jent, acting as head coach with Nate McMillan still in health and safety protocols. “They needed Coffey to be hot in that first half to score. We kind of kept their main guys at bay. Even though they come away shooting 50%, so it’s a little discouraging, I thought overall our attention to detail and our effort was better.”
4. Bogdanovic and Young led the way offensively, with Bogdanovic finding a good shooting rhythm in the first half after missing some time with a right ankle sprain and then in health and safety protocols. He finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, with Young adding 19 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals.
“Some nights, defensively we are bad, some nights offensively we are bad, so it’s changing a lot,” Bogdanovic said of what the Hawks need to fix. “As I said, we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and accept it, that we are playing bad right now. We cannot say we are a good team right now, because we are not. Simple as that.”
5. Cam Reddish sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and was originally listed as questionable to return, but was ruled out for the rest of the game at halftime. Reddish only played three minutes before departing. This is the same ankle Reddish sprained in the loss to the Knicks Nov. 27, and he re-tweaked it, per Jent.
Stat of the game: 36.4% (or 12-33, what the Clippers shot from 3-point range)
Star of the game: Coffey (had a season-high 21 points to lead the Clippers in scoring, helping cover for Leonard and George’s absence)
Quotable: “We’re finally getting some guys back, but we’ve got to win. For me… It’s frustrating. I hate losing. That’s pretty much it. I’m not the happiest guy in the world right now, but we’ve got to find a way to win.” (Young on his spirits with how the Hawks season is going)
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